Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday claimed he was “abducted” by authorities in Lahore and later “thrown” by the roadside, a claim denied by Punjab Information Minister.
“We were abducted, and then, when they received pressure from somewhere, they threw me by the roadside without security and left,” Afridi claimed.
Afridi further alleged that there was a “conspiracy to abduct the chief minister of a province”, adding that he had earlier warned that “they want to divide the country”.
However, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari claimed that the KP chief minister had boarded a police vehicle of his own accord.
In the video shared by Bokhari, Afridi can be seen voluntarily walking towards and boarding the police vehicle. He then refuses to dismount, while an individual can be heard asking the chief minister to “please leave the vehicle”.
A post on the KP chief minister’s official X account at around 9pm said Afridi “himself got on a Punjab Police van and reached a police station”. Another post, published minutes earlier, said Afridi was present with party workers at a protest rally on Lahore’s Mall Road.
Speaking to Dawn, a senior KP government official accompanying Afridi said the chief minister had boarded the police van to secure the release of some detained party workers. While some workers were freed, others remained in the van, prompting Afridi to refuse to leave.
The police then drove the van a reasonable distance from the spot before removing Afridi from the vehicle, he added.
‘Insult to the mandate’
KP Minister for Information Shafi Jan, in a statement, alleged that Punjab Police had attempted to abduct the KP CM, claiming that he was separated from his security detail and forcibly moved into another vehicle.
Jan alleged that Afridi was put into a police vehicle and taken to a remote area, where he was later left without his security detail after “pressure mounted”. He accused the Maryam Nawaz government of “police high-handedness” and said the treatment of the elected chief minister was unconstitutional and undemocratic.
“The attempt to abduct Chief Minister Afridi will be considered an attack on the foundations of the federation,” said Jan.
He further alleged that the incident was a “dangerous attempt” to create hatred and confrontation between the two provinces, warning that any attempt to abduct an elected chief minister would be considered an attack on the foundations of the federation. He said the KP chief minister’s “humiliation” would not be tolerated.
PTI condemned the arrest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi in Punjab, calling it an “insult” to the mandate and dignity of the people of the province.
In a statement, the party said the incident, along with recent statements by the Punjab chief minister, risked fuelling “resentment, mistrust and division” among the provinces. PTI said it would not engage in “provincialism, ethnicity, hatred or division”, stressing that the mandate of people across all provinces must be respected.
The party urged its supporters to respond peacefully and democratically, saying repression and political victimisation would only deepen public resentment.
More to follow
