PESHAWAR(The COW News Digital) New details have emerged about the reported protective custody of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi and several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders in Peshawar, with sources claiming that police entered Afridi’s room at the Chief Minister’s House after breaking down its door.
According to sources cited in local media reports, police launched the operation at around noon on October 11. Afridi was reportedly alone in his room when officers arrived to take him into protective custody.
Official sources claimed that Afridi was neither handcuffed nor transported in a prison vehicle. Instead, he reportedly remained in the room with police officials for approximately 45 minutes as the two sides discussed the circumstances surrounding the political party’s planned long march.
During the conversation, a police officer reportedly asked Afridi how far he intended to take the march.
According to the account provided by sources, Afridi responded that the plan was not to take the march to Islamabad. He reportedly said that negotiations with the government had taken place overnight through Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The reported account further suggested that the federal government had agreed to consider demands concerning a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan and his transfer to a hospital.
Afridi reportedly told the officials that discussions had also taken place with party leaders and that an announcement to call off the march was to be made once the necessary instructions were received.
However, these details of the conversation have been attributed to sources, and the account could not be independently verified from the information available.
The operation reportedly extended beyond Afridi. According to the sources, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI leader Junaid Akbar and Khalid Khurshid were also taken into protective custody from the Speaker’s House.
The reported operation against the party leaders was completed within approximately two hours, according to the same sources.
The circumstances surrounding the action have drawn attention amid political tensions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and concerns over the province’s governance and the federal government’s dealings with the opposition.
Reports of the leaders being taken into protective custody emerged following announcements and discussions concerning the possible imposition of emergency measures and governor’s rule in the province.
The development comes against the backdrop of PTI’s continued political campaign for access to its incarcerated founder, Imran Khan, and its demands concerning his health and treatment.
While the reported account provides details of the police operation and the alleged conversation with Afridi, the reasons for the custody, the precise legal basis for the action and the official positions of all those involved remain important aspects of the story.
Further clarification from the police, provincial authorities and PTI leadership would help establish the full circumstances of the operation.
The episode highlights the continuing political tensions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where developments involving PTI leaders remain closely linked to the wider dispute between the party and the federal government.
