Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday staged a sit-in at the Factory checkpoint after being denied permission to meet PTI founder Imran Khan.
Afridi reached near Adiala Jail to meet the PTI founder, but police barred him from advancing. When the police prevented him from proceeding towards the jail, Afridi sat at the Factory checkpoint and commenced a sit-in.
MNA Shahid Khattak, MPA Mina Khan Afridi, and other party leaders accompanied him. Security arrangements along Adiala Road were extremely tight, with additional police deployed at Dahgal and Gorakhpur checkpoints.
Speaking to the media, Afridi said reports of Khan’s ill health were causing increasing concern. He added that the party sought a meeting to confirm the leader’s condition and to allay public worry. He warned that if concern continued to rise, it could trigger nationwide unrest. “We are here. If we are denied the meeting, we will consider our next steps,” he said.
Afridi said that all legal and democratic channels had been pursued to arrange the meeting. “I wished to hold a sit-in, but the PTI founder’s sisters discouraged it. Negotiations with the government took place under his guidance, but the authorities had no mandate. What happened on February 8 was repeated on November 23. The public’s trust in democracy is at risk. In the recent by-elections, 95% of voters did not participate, expressing solidarity with the leader,” he added.
The chief minister also expressed concern that denial of the meeting heightened their worries and said the party was considering all options. He criticised the government, claiming that the IMF had presented a charge sheet against it, and accused officials of misappropriating Rs5,300 billion without accountability.
Afridi maintained that those responsible for violating the public mandate would be held to account. “I will represent my province in the NFC and ensure its rights are defended. The government has postponed the FFC meeting four times,” he said.
