PML-N may choose the city, day, date and time for a rally, provided both parties receive an equal playing field; if its rally draws a larger crowd, I am ready to quit politics, says the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister.
PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 17th Sep, 2026) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has issued an open political challenge to the PML-N to hold a public rally in any city in Punjab. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the PML-N could choose any city in Punjab, while the PTI could also select any city of its choice.
The PML-N could also decide the day, date and time. The only condition was that both parties be provided a complete and equal playing field. He said that if the PML-N rally proved larger than the PTI rally in terms of public participation, he was ready to quit politics.
However, if the PTI rally was larger, the PML-N would have to answer before the people of Punjab for questions surrounding its public mandate, alleged oppression and coercion against political workers, and its style of governance and poor performance.
He would also have to apologize to the public and review its political strategy and leadership.
“I am presenting this challenge once again with complete clarity,” he said. If the PML-N had confidence in its performance and the support of the people of Punjab, it should have no hesitation in accepting the challenge.
His position was that the biggest political test for the PML-N was the performance of the government imposed through what he described as Maryam Nawaz’s illegitimate mandate. If it had confidence in the performance and popularity of its alleged illegitimate government, it should come into the field and let the people’s power decide.
The decision should now be based not on claims, official statistics or media statements, but on public presence and public reaction. “The challenge is before you. The people of Punjab will decide, just as they did on 8 February by giving PTI a two-thirds majority. I will wait, God willing,” he said.
