ISLAMABAD: In a flagrant defiance of both court orders and constitutional safeguards, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was once again obstructed on Thursday from meeting his party’s imprisoned founding chairman, Imran Khan, at Adiala Jail – marking the fifth consecutive time Punjab authorities have blocked the meeting.
Afridi’s motorcade was halted at the Dhangal checkpoint, a few yards away from notorious Adiala jail, where a Punjab Police contingent – led, notably, by a Station House Officer (SHO) – refused to allow the chief minister to proceed despite repeated references to a standing court order permitting the meeting.
Witnesses said the officers offered no coherent explanation for the blockade, prompting sharp questions about the chain of command behind the obstruction.
Visibly perturbed, Afridi confronted the policemen, demanding to know why a provincial chief executive – elected with what he described as a “robust public mandate” – was being stopped by a mid-level police official.
“We have violated neither the law nor the Constitution,” he insisted, calling the incident part of an “unprecedented assault on democratic norms.”
The confrontation marks yet another escalation in the deepening standoff between the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the federal government, with Afridi accusing state institutions of employing heavy-handed tactics to isolate Imran Khan and suppress political dissent.
“There are court orders,” he reminded the policemen. “Yet I am still barred from meeting my leader. Such things do not happen in civilized societies.”
Afridi also took a pointed jab at the country’s political elite, saying that while his passport had been blacklisted, those “who emptied the nation’s coffers” continued to move freely in and out of Pakistan. “What do I have to fear? I was born here, I will live here, and when I die, I will be buried here,” he said.
The chief minister’s remarks turned sharper still when asked about rising frustration in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including calls from some quarters for a debate on separation from the federation.
Afridi dismissed such notions as “treasonous,” reiterating his loyalty to the state. “Pakistan is mine. Anyone advocating separation is a traitor. Pakistan will remain,” he asserted.
He said his recent remarks at an Abbottabad rally – which triggered controversy – had been “wilfully misinterpreted,” insisting he had only stated that tampering with the public mandate was an “unconstitutional act” that merited action under Article 6.
Standing beside him, former KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani added a barbed observation about the checkpoint’s quasiextraterritorial feel.
“It seems we need a visa to go beyond this point,” he remarked, delivering a sharp, veiled critique of military interference in civilian affairs and the ongoing obstruction of PTI leaders attempting to meet Imran Khan in jail.
“Even a court-issued visa holds no value here. The only visa that works is one we do not possess.”
After several hours of the standoff and no clarity from police officials, Afridi’s convoy was eventually compelled to turn back. But the chief minister, undeterred, struck a note of defiance. “This too shall pass,” he said. “I will meet my leader. No power in this land can prevent that forever.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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