KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi waits at the factory checkpoint on his way to Adiala Jail.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi returned after being denied permission to meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan.
CM Afridi had reached Adiala Road on Thursday; However, Rawalpindi police stopped him from traveling at the Gorakhpur check post. Afridi’s security team had initially planned a route from Rawalpindi to Adiala jail. The chief minister arrived from the private housing society and was detained by a strong police contingent following security protocols.
Read: KP jirga calls for provincial finance commission, law enforcement reform
Afridi was later granted permission to proceed from Gorakhpur check post to the factory check post, which is located half a kilometer from Adiala jail. Additional police units were deployed at the factory checkpoint and the road was temporarily closed to traffic.
Speaking to reporters at the factory checkpoint near Adiala jail, Afridi described an FIR lodged against him as “a complete no-ball” and said he would seek to have it withdrawn. He urged authorities not to take action.
Read more: KP CM banned from meeting Imran again
Afridi said those who kidnapped the two jirga members were “enemies of peace and Pashtun traditions” and that anyone involved in terrorism, regardless of nationality, must be exposed and punished. He called for strict enforcement of national policy toward Afghan residents and warned that violations of local customs would have “very serious” consequences.
He also highlighted the duty of every Pakistani to respect the national anthem, flag, constitution and rule of law, and said concerns should be heard but not used to justify actions that hint at anti-national intentions.
This is the sixth consecutive time that CM Afridi has been denied meeting Imran, despite court orders issued by the Islamabad High Court.
