Peshawar(The COW News Digital)Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday ended his sit-in near Adiala Jail after hours of standoff with police who had blocked his convoy at the Gorakhpur checkpoint in Rawalpindi. The protest was launched in response to authorities’ refusal to allow him and accompanying legislators to meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.
According to sources, Chief Minister Afridi decided to call off the sit-in following consultations with Allama Nasir Abbas and opposition alliance leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai. The discussions resulted in an agreement to return to Adiala Jail on Tuesday, coinciding with the scheduled family meeting of Imran Khan. Party workers will also be summoned on that day, sources said.
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Mahmood Khan Achakzai told reporters that the KP chief minister would approach the court today regarding the denial of access to Imran Khan. Achakzai maintained that preventing elected representatives from meeting the PTI founder raises constitutional and political concerns that must be addressed through legal channels.
Sources inside the opposition alliance revealed that Afridi had not informed the coalition leadership before staging the sit-in. After nearly four hours of protest, the KP chief minister reportedly contacted alliance leaders for assistance, expressing a desire for them to jointly announce the end of the demonstration.
Earlier in the day, Afridi, accompanied by MNA Shahid Khattak and provincial ministers including Meena Khan, Shafi Jan, and Shaukat Yousafzai, attempted to visit Imran Khan at Adiala Jail. Police halted the delegation at the Gorakhpur checkpoint, leading to a tense exchange between Afridi and security officers.
In a strongly worded conversation with police officials, the KP chief minister said he represented the 45 million people of his province and questioned why he was repeatedly barred from meeting Imran Khan. “This is my eighth visit. Why am I not being allowed to meet the PTI founder? Why is an entire province being humiliated?” he asked.
Afridi warned that if similar treatment were meted out to federal authorities, they would not tolerate it. He stated that he had come solely for a meeting and intended to stay at the protest site until the matter was resolved. His sit-in drew attention on national media and intensified debate over political rights, transparency, and access to detainees.
With Tuesday’s renewed attempt now planned, political observers say tensions remain high as the issue continues to fuel wider opposition criticism of the government’s handling of PTI leadership.
