Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister(CM) Sohail Afridi left Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after jail authorities did not allow him to meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan despite an order from the Islamabad High Court.
Earlier today, the High Court directed the Adiala Jail superintendent to allow PTI leaders to meet the party’s jailed founder. The directions came on the pleas of PTI leaders, including CM Afridi, who have sought a meeting with Imran to discuss “policy matters” and the formation of the cabinet of the newly elected provincial government. Hearing petitions filed by several PTI leaders, an IHC bench headed by Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar directed the Adiala Jail superintendent to implement the court’s March 24 verdict regarding jail meetings with the PTI founder.
The three-member bench also included Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Azam Khan. Soon after the verdict, Chief Minister Afridi reached Adiala Jail to meet Imran, but his convoy was stopped by police at Dahgal check post near the jail.
He staged a brief sit-in outside Adiala Jail, demanding implementation of the High Court’s directions to allow him to meet the jailed party founder. Speaking to reporters at the check post, Afridi said he wanted to meet his leader, adding that he would wait for the PTI founder’s directions even if he was not allowed to meet him. “My leader has always supported dialogue. The people of KP have voted for the ideology and policy of the PTI founder,” the KP chief executive said. “It is my right to protect the public mandate and get policy guidelines from the Quaid [party founder,” he added. It may be noted that in March this year, the same three-member bench had restored twice-weekly meetings with jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, allowing them to take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays as per the stipulated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
However, the IHC had strictly banned any kind of media talk after the meetings. The verdict said that no media talk would be allowed after an individual meeting with the PTI founding chairman. Imran has been behind bars since August 2023 after being convicted in the Toshakhana case-1 – one of dozens of cases registered against the former prime minister since he was ousted from power in April 2022.
Read also: KP CM Sohail Afridi stages sit-in outside Adiala Jail
