In a significant display of defiance, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi staged a sit-in outside Adiala Jail on Thursday after being prohibited from meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, despite possessing a valid court order permitting the visit.
Afridi, accompanied by a delegation including PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar, Senator Mishal Yousafzai, and former KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani, was halted by police at the Dahgal checkpoint near the penitentiary. The chief minister ultimately departed without seeing the former prime minister.
The standoff occurred even after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had explicitly directed the Superintendent of Adiala Jail to enforce its March 24 order, which reinstated the schedule allowing Mr. Khan to receive visitors twice a week. The court had instructed prison officials to facilitate meetings based on a list provided by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja.
Speaking to the media, an incensed Junaid Akbar threatened to lose faith in the judicial system. ‘If the meeting is not allowed, I will advise my party to lose trust in the courts,’ he declared, adding, ‘If the courts cannot ensure justice, they should be turned into universities-at least someone would benefit.’ He vowed to table a resolution in the provincial assembly stating the judiciary has failed to deliver justice.
Addressing reporters from the checkpoint, Chief Minister Afridi asserted his democratic right to meet his party’s leader. ‘The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa voted for PTI because of Imran Khan’s vision and policies. It is my democratic right to present myself before my leader and seek his guidance,’ he stated.
Afridi also criticized the federal government on multiple fronts, including its recent dispatch of bulletproof vehicles to Balochistan. ‘Those vehicles were expired and second-hand. My police and the families of martyrs deserve better,’ he remarked, questioning why the federal administration did not retain the vehicles if they were fit for use.
He announced that the KP government is allocating a Rs. 7 billion grant to bolster its police force, which includes the acquisition of new armored vehicles. The chief minister also demanded that the federation immediately convene a National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting and release KP’s outstanding share of Rs. 350 billion, noting that arrears have surpassed Rs. 2.2 trillion.
‘If the federal government were serious about ending terrorism, it would release our funds,’ Afridi asserted, directly linking financial disputes to national security.
The KP chief minister also leveled sharp criticism at the judiciary, stating, ‘High Court judges must ensure their orders are implemented. If they are powerless, they should shut down the courts.’ He further accused the federal government of treating KP like a stepchild, lamenting the immense suffering of the province’s people in the war against terrorism.