Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi staged a brief sit-in on Adiala Road Thursday after prison authorities refused to allow him to meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, despite a recent Islamabad High Court direction to permit such visits.
Afridi, who reached the gate of Central Jail Rawalpindi (Adiala) after the IHC ordered jail authorities to implement earlier orders allowing meetings, was stopped at the Dahgal checkpoint and prevented from proceeding to the prison.
He and party workers sat on the road in protest for about an hour, creating heavy traffic congestion on Adiala Road until police restored normal movement after the demonstration ended.
Speaking to reporters during the sit-in, Afridi accused the judiciary of being powerless to enforce its own orders. “Despite court orders, we were not allowed to meet our leader today. This is the helplessness of our judiciary — the judges are not able to obey their orders,” he said, warning that the incident raises questions about the direction in which the country is headed.
Afridi said he had sought the meeting to take guidance on policy matters and on formation of the provincial cabinet, and that he had written to federal and Punjab authorities as well as approached the courts for permission. He added that, as chief minister, his duty is to work for the people and that he would follow party instructions while seeking counsel from the PTI founder.
The KP chief minister’s security detail and Rawalpindi police were reported to be on alert during the protest. PTI workers at the scene raised slogans before Afridi and his supporters cleared the road and left the area, after which traffic was reopened.
The Islamabad High Court had earlier directed the Adiala jail superintendent to allow meetings of PTI leaders with Imran Khan in accordance with standard operating procedures; petitions by Afridi and other party figures seeking access to the incarcerated party founder were part of the hearing. Prison authorities’ refusal to permit the visit despite the IHC order prompted the on-site protest