ISLAMABAD: After being denied a meeting with jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday announced to turn every nook and corner of the country into D-Chowk.
Talking to reporters, after he was stopped at security check post near Adiala Jail, the chief minister said that the current situation reflects that the government had no intention to allow him and other party leaders to meet Khan in jail.
“If they did not allow us to meet Khan in jail by 10pm (Thursday), I will be left with no option but to call on PTI workers to take to the streets across the country,” he warned.
Afridi further stated he is making one last ditch effort to meet Khan before formally marching onto Islamabad on September 27, adding, “This is my last attempt and next time either I will come with my workers on September 27, or the government ensures my meeting with my leader.”
He called upon party supporters to get ready for a “mammoth” long march on Islamabad on September 27, saying the sea of people from across the country would become a nightmare for the installed regime of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The chief minister claimed that a single call for protest from him was enough to mobilise hundreds of thousands of people and bring the capital to a complete halt, as demonstrated by his public gathering a day earlier.
He maintained that he would bring two million people to Islamabad on September 27, saying the turnout would demonstrate who enjoyed the support of the masses.
When asked he said that he would wait outside the jail as long as he can, as official time to meet the prisoners has already ended.
“The official visitation time is already over, but we will still wait, as I have told my lawmakers to get to turn every interchange across the country into D-Chowk if out meeting with Khan is denied again,” he declared.
He regretted that the way a former prime minister was being treated was quite shameful, saying that such treatment never happens even in a sham democracy.
He accused the powers that be of pushing the country towards anarchy and completely distraction just to fulfill their inflated ego.
Afridi insisted the destruction of the country is evident form the claims of government ministers, who despite being in power are openly admitting that the so-called collapsed democratic system of the country has completely collapsed.
He blamed both the rulers and their handlers for pushing the country to the point of no return, saying that all those clinging to power were responsible for what the country was witnessing today.
Heavy police contingents were deployed and barricades erected to avert any untoward incident. A large number of PTI supporters gathered at Adiala Jail on the visitation day to meet Khan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026