KP CM Afridi stages sit-in after being denied meeting with Imran for eighth time
After being denied a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan for the eighth time, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi staged a sit-in at Factory Naka, near Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail on Thursday.
CM Afridi was also denied a meeting with Imran at the jail last Friday. Speaking to reporters, he stated that it was unfortunate that, despite having orders from the Islamabad High Court (IHC), he was not permitted to meet the patron-in-chief of his party. He added that he wrote to the chief justice but received no response regarding the issue.
The CM and party supporters originally intended to march to the prison, where Imran is incarcerated, but were stopped by a heavy contingent of police personnel at Factory Naka.
The CM offered prayers at the sit-in, which were led by Punjab lawmaker Hafiz Farhat Abbas.
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Afridi said that police had stopped him this afternoon at Factory Naka, near the jail. This is the same area where the party staged a sit-in after being denied a meeting with Imran earlier this week.
“I told the police that I was stopped last time, and I am also being stopped this time,” CM Afridi said. “I told them, ‘If you stop me, then tell me why you are defying court orders in writing.’ They did not give me a reason.”
The KP CM added that the situation is “worsening” and questioned why the authorities are not complying with court orders.
“A province is being treated like a stepmother,” CM Afridi remarked. “If the representative of 25 million people is being treated like this, then it is not a good thing.
“Would you like it if it happened to someone else in another province tomorrow?”
The CM added that nobody was allowed to meet the PTI founder, be it his sisters, doctors, lawyers or party leadership.
“These people (authorities) need to decide who they are standing with. If they continue with this attitude, then we will take a final option,” he said, not elaborating on the “final option” itself.
PTI concerned about Imran’s health
The PTI expressed concern over Imran’s health while incarcerated, as he has been barred from seeing his family and lawyers for over three weeks.
Former PM’s aide Zulfi Bukhari said no one has seen Imran since November 4 and no reason has been given for denying meetings.
“His health is our concern. We are worried about his illegal isolation,” Bukhari told Reuters, demanding the government give Imran’s family immediate access to him.
A jail official told Reuters that the former premier was in good health and that he was not aware of any plans to move him to any other facility. He spoke on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
The Interior Ministry did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
