RAWALPINDI – After being refused permission for the eighth time to meet PTI founder Imran Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi held a sit-in at Factory Naka near Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail on Thursday.
Afridi had earlier been denied a meeting with Imran Khan last Friday as well. While speaking to the media, he termed the situation regrettable, saying that despite having clear orders from the Islamabad High Court, he was still not allowed to meet his party’s patron-in-chief. He added that he had written to the chief justice, but no response had been received.
The chief minister, accompanied by party supporters, had planned to proceed toward Adiala Jail but was stopped by a large police presence at Factory Naka. During the sit-in, prayers were offered, led by Punjab assembly member Hafiz Farhat Abbas.
Addressing reporters earlier in the day, Afridi said police once again blocked his way at Factory Naka, the same location where a sit-in had been staged earlier this week following a similar denial.
He told journalists that he questioned the police for stopping him repeatedly and asked them to provide written reasons for not following court directives, but no explanation was given.
Expressing concern, the KP chief minister said the situation was deteriorating and questioned the continued disregard for court orders. He remarked that his province was being treated unfairly, adding that if an elected representative of 25 million people could be treated this way, it set a troubling precedent for others.
He further claimed that no one was being allowed to meet the PTI founder, including his sisters, legal team, doctors, or senior party leaders. Afridi warned that the authorities must decide where they stand, cautioning that continued obstruction could force the party to consider more serious steps, without specifying what those would be.
