Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Sohail Afridi travelling to Bannu with a motorcade of 120 vehicles has drawn strong reactions from the public, as it came just weeks after the provincial government issued austerity directives urging cuts in official expenditure.
According to reports, the visit came after 15 police personnel were martyred and three others wounded in a suicide attack on the Fateh Khel police post. During his visit on Monday, Afridi spoke out against decisions taken behind closed doors, stating that the provincial government would resist any move that went against peace in the province or the interests of its people.
However, it was the size of his motorcade that drew more attention than his remarks. Pictures and videos of the 120-car convoy circulated on social media, triggering a wave of backlash from users who questioned the government’s commitment to the austerity measures it had recently announced.
Netizens were unsparing in their criticism as several social media users pointed to the contradiction between the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) long-standing rhetoric versus conduct in power.
One user noted that the party that once promised to end VIP culture, establish a welfare state on the model of Khilafat-e-Rashida, and do away with protocol, now had its CM arriving in Bannu with a convoy of 120 vehicles.
Another user took aim at CM Afridi directly. “Sohail Afridi should keep this protocol going for as long as Imran Khan is in jail, he keeps praying Khan stays locked up so he can keep trading on his name and living in luxury,” the user wrote, adding that PTI’s KP chapter would be “wiped clean” in the process.
One commenter pointed directly to the financial cost. “All that fuel in every car and it’s all free,” the user remarked, before adding, “How much petrol will those 120 cars burn through and who is paying for it?”
Another warned, “The day is not far when these hundred-crore cars will be on the ground and a helicopter on top”.
Others framed it as a broader governance failure. “A provincial CM selected to resolve the province’s issues is instead busy enjoying his tenure with no visible results,” one user wrote.
“Thousands of exotic cars, VIP protocols for these cartoons, these laws must be changed. This has become ridiculously expensive and unsustainable for tax payers,” one user posted. Another added, “They are parasites, drinking the blood of the people.”
One user summed up the broader frustration: “As long as royal-style governance does not end in Pakistan, this country’s system cannot be fixed. If this country weakens, it is a loss for all of us, especially those in power”.
