The story of taking former Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi, Speaker of the Provincial Assembly Babar Swati, Junaid Akbar, and others into protective custody in Peshawar has emerged.
According to sources, police started the operation at 12 noon on October 11 and took Sohail Afridi into protective custody from his room in the Chief Minister House. Sohail Afridi was alone in the room; and the door was broken.
According to official sources, Sohail Afridi was neither handcuffed nor put in a prisoner van. Sohail Afridi remained in the room with officers for 45 minutes. Police officials had a 45-minute dialogue with Sohail Afridi in the room.
Sohail Afridi was respectfully shifted to a safe place in a vehicle. A police officer asked Sohail Afridi where did you want to go for the long march. On which Sohail Afridi replied that the long march was not to be taken to Islamabad; at night, talks had been held with Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s government, and the federal government had agreed to the demands of meeting the founder of PTI, shifting him to the hospital.
Sources said that Sohail Afridi further said in his reply that there was talk with party leaders; as soon as instructions were received, the long march was to be announced as ended. According to sources, officers asked Sohail Afridi what the purpose of amending the Police Act was.
On which Sohail Afridi replied that he did not want to amend the Police Act; it was done to put pressure. According to sources, Speaker KP Assembly Babar Saleem Swati, Junaid Akbar and Khalid Khurshid were taken into protective custody from the Speaker House. According to official sources, Junaid Akbar was in the store attached to the kitchen in the Speaker House. Sources said that one member of the provincial assembly, a PTI social media official, was also taken into custody in the Speaker House.
The operation to take PTI leaders into protective custody was completed in two hours. It should be noted that in the past few days, after the announcement of emergency and the imposition of Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports emerged of Sohail Afridi and other party leaders being taken into protective custody.
Read also: Situation remained calm near former CM Sohail Afridi’s Ancestral Home in Khyber
