PESHAWAR:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has formally lodged a protest with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, alleging that he was subjected to deliberate and humiliating treatment during his visit to Lahore, in violation of constitutional dignity and inter-provincial respect.
In a two-page protest letter sent to the Punjab chief minister, Afridi said the way his visit was handled was neither an administrative lapse nor an accidental occurrence, but a conscious and intentional act.
He wrote that what happened amounted to a direct affront to a constitutional office and damaged the spirit of respect among federated units.
“I write to you with deep concern and great disappointment at the way my recent visit to the province of Punjab was handled and the events that deliberately unfolded during and after the visit.”
Recalling the sequence of events, the KP chief minister said the actions he faced were neither accidental nor administrative.
“It reflects conduct that is totally incompatible with the dignity of the constitutional office and the spirit of interprovincial respect,” he said.
Afridi reminded the Punjab CM that he made the visit in his official capacity as prime minister, but said the reception fell far short of constitutional norms.
“Unfortunately, my treatment was marked by discourtesy, unnecessary hostility and deviations from protocol that cannot be justified under any accepted standard of interprovincial engagement,” he said.
The KP chief minister said the Punjab government adopted what he described as an extraordinary and excessive security posture during the visit, including widespread arrests and visible law enforcement theatrics, which he called “a message of intimidation rather than cooperation.”
He complained that “such measures were neither proportionate nor justified and conveyed an intention that went far beyond legitimate security considerations.”
Afridi further recalled that “even public places including food streets and markets were completely sealed, and complete blackouts occurred and places were denied, affecting the common citizens of Lahore at this cost.”
“Free access, provided for in the Constitution, was even denied in highway rest areas,” the letter adds.
The KP CM also took note of a “coordinated and malicious social media campaign that accompanied and followed” his visit.
“Serious insinuations, specifically related to narcotics, were injected into public discourse,” Afridi said.
“These allegations were amplified through accounts widely perceived to be aligned with the Punjab Government or operating under its umbrella,” he alleged.
“Let me say this clearly: the use of state-linked digital platforms to circulate or amplify defamatory insinuations against a sitting Chief Minister of another province is unacceptable, irresponsible and institutionally indefensible.”
“Allegations of such seriousness cannot be raised through insinuations or suggestions; they require proof, jurisdiction and a legal process,” he told the Punjab CM.
“Anything short of that constitutes defamation,” he added.
Afridi said that “taken together (protocol degradation, excessive police optics and synchronized digital defamation) the pattern is too consistent to be dismissed as a coincidence.”
He alleged that the events reflected “planning and intention, aimed at humiliation rather than commitment.”
The KP prime minister warned that “such actions undermine federal harmony, erode public confidence in provincial institutions and [set] “A dangerous precedent in which constitutional officials are attacked through innuendo rather than addressed through formal channels.”
He called the conduct “below the status of a provincial government” and said it damaged the “collective credibility of the federated units.”
“I register my strong protest and rejection of the treatment meted out to me and the defamatory narratives propagated during this episode.”
“I hope that your government will ensure that such conduct, both administrative and digital, is not repeated or normalized, and that accountability is enforced where necessary,” he said.
Punjab Assembly Speaker
Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan announced that the report of the committee formed to investigate the chaos, vandalism and physical clashes during the KP chief minister’s visit will be handed over to law enforcement agencies for further action.
Speaking on the matter, the Khan alleged that, disguised as political party workers, foreign terrorists entered the Jinnah House armed. In addition, he stated that the intruders were carrying a chemical substance with which they completely set the premises on fire.
Addressing a press conference in the Punjab Assembly, President Khan emphasized that the seriousness of the incident warrants a thorough investigation by law enforcement agencies to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
He said those who do not respect the sanctity of holy places like Mecca and Medina cannot be expected to respect democracy or the Punjab Assembly. He claimed that people whose names and CNIC were not included in the official guest list were involved in acts of violence and ill-treatment, which would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
