ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday issued a stark warning to the government, saying the whole country would be turned into a “D-Chowk” if a meeting with jailed PTI founding chairman Imran Khan was not allowed by Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference alongside PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja and other party leaders, Afridi said he along with PTI lawmakers would go to Adiala Jail on Thursday and, if denied access to Khan, would stage a sit-in outside the Supreme Court and D-Chowk.
“If a meeting with Imran Khan is not allowed by Thursday, we will turn the whole country into D-Chowk at 10pm,” he warned.
He also issued a stern warning over Khan’s health, saying Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and those currently holding positions of authority would be held directly responsible if anything happened to the former prime minister.
He said the party’s immediate demand was for Khan to receive the “best possible medical treatment” at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, in the presence of his personal physicians and a member of his family.
Afridi said both Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were in poor health and insisted that concerns over the former prime minister’s condition could not simply be dismissed.
He alleged that Khan had not been arrested but “kidnapped” and was being held in jail unjustly.
According to the chief minister, Khan was completely fit when he was taken into custody, while his deteriorating condition in Adiala Jail was now the responsibility of the entire system.
“The government, judges and jail administration are all working together,” he alleged, blaming the authorities for what he described as Khan’s declining health.
Afridi said the party’s leadership had repeatedly sought a meeting with Khan but had received no positive response.
He maintained that the former prime minister’s family was willing to guarantee that no political discussion would take place during the meeting.
“Accept our guarantee and arrange the meeting […] I assure you that Khan’s sisters will not discuss politics,” he said.
He stressed that Khan’s family members were non-political and said both the family and his lawyers were prepared to provide assurances that no political press conference would be held after the meeting.
The chief minister also widened his attack, warning that growing anger among the country’s youth could eventually overwhelm the authorities.
He claimed that young people across the country were frustrated, angry and increasingly unable to see a future for themselves, blaming unemployment and what he called “Yazidism” for deepening public resentment.
“I have travelled throughout Pakistan, and the youth are ready to come out onto the streets. When these young people come out, even I will not be able to control them,” he said.
Afridi further warned that the PTI’s mobilisation would reach a decisive point on September 27, when the party has announced plans to march on Islamabad if Imran Khan is not released from jail by then.
“The entire nation will be out on September 27, and then no one will have the opportunity to control the situation,” he declared.
Speaking on the occasion, Salman Akram Raja said Khan’s health was now the party’s overriding concern and warned that no further interference in his medical treatment would be tolerated.
He also made clear that the political campaign being planned by the PTI would continue, despite pressure on the party and its leadership.
Raja accused the government of pursuing a discriminatory policy towards PTI supporters and said the party would continue its political struggle against what he described as an “imposed fake regime”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026