KPK CM Afridi says denied meeting with Imran Khan for fourth time

Peshawar, Oct 30 (PTI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday said he was denied a meeting with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan for the fourth time since he assumed office earlier this month.

The denial comes despite the Islamabad High Court (IHC) last week directing the Adiala Jail superintendent to implement a March 24 order that reinstated the twice-a-week meeting schedule for the former prime minister.

Afridi has termed consultation with the 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician as crucial in order to announce his new provincial cabinet after he was elected as the chief minister.

Speaking to reporters outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, Afridi said he was yet again prevented by the police from meeting Khan.

Afridi highlighted the various legal steps he had taken in order to secure his meeting with Khan, including letters written to the Punjab Home Department and the federal government, along with approaching the IHC.

“Imagine that someone in Pakistan is so powerful that they are considering themselves beyond the scope of the law and the Constitution, so now we are in a quandary about what to do next,” he said.

The chief minister added that the PTI leadership will gather to discuss the matter and announce a plan of action.

In a video statement, Senator Aon Abbas Buppi, flanked by Afridi, said they both were listed among the individuals allowed to meet Khan today and had departed for Adiala Jail.

However, Buppi claimed they were stopped by Punjab Police while on their way to the prison.

“What will be bigger shamelessness than this. The Islamabad High Court’s chief justice is ordering the CM in writing that go and meet your leader, and a jail superintendent — a Grade 17-18 officer — said ‘I do not acknowledge any court’,” the senator said.

Without disclosing where they were, Buppi said they were waiting for someone to “come to their senses and allow the meeting”.

Earlier today, Afridi told reporters in Peshawar that if barred again from meeting the PTI founder, he would file a contempt case against the Adiala Jail administration for not following the IHC directives.

A day after he took the oath as the chief minister on October 15, Afridi secured protective bail from the Peshawar High Court (PHC) till November 18 and went to Adiala Jail to meet Khan, but failed to do so despite a two-hour wait.

Afridi had also filed a separate plea in the IHC seeking permission to meet Khan, on which notices were issued to Adiala Jail’s Superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum and others.

Then, on October 23, after the IHC ordered the jail superintendent to implement the twice-a-week meeting schedule, Afridi headed to Adiala Jail but could not do so again.

Most recently, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister visited Rawalpindi on Tuesday but was denied to meet the imprisoned former premier for the third time.

Having faced criticism from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opposition MPAs over the delay in forming the provincial cabinet, Afridi said that he would announce a “compact” cabinet later today.

Considering the multiple failed attempts to meet Khan in person, the latter’s sister, Uzma Khanum, told the newly-appointed chief minister on Tuesday he had “complete authority” to form the provincial cabinet.

“I direct Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi to establish a compact, need-based cabinet. The selection of ministers is entirely his prerogative, as I have proposed no names,” a post on Khan’s official X account quoted him as saying.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opposition members have said government affairs had come to a halt due to the failure to form the cabinet.

The lawmakers also feared that the prolonged delay was tantamount to inviting the imposition of an emergency in the province. PTI AYZ GSP GSP