Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has accused Punjab police of obstructing his party’s political activities in Lahore, alleging that roads were blocked, party workers arrested and tents removed from a protest camp.
In a video message, Afridi claimed police had also switched off lights along certain routes and shut petrol stations to prevent vehicles carrying protesters from refuelling.
The KP chief minister said he had decided to remain in Lahore and would resume the ongoing street movement at 5pm. He claimed a large number of Lahore residents joined the movement on Monday despite his party not issuing a formal call for a protest.
“We had not told anyone where we were going. The people of Lahore came out themselves,” he said.
Afridi alleged that several party workers were detained in prison vans. He said he climbed onto one of the vehicles in protest and was later taken away in another police van after getting inside it.
He described the incident as his “abduction”, claiming he was driven around Lahore for around 15 minutes without security before being dropped on the roadside.
Afridi termed the incident a serious security concern and accused the Punjab government and police of attempting to restrict his party’s political activities through what he called a “well-planned conspiracy”.
He further alleged that police were conducting raids at people’s homes and claimed children were being abducted. The KP chief minister also accused the Punjab police of being politicised and warned that his party would strongly respond if its activities continued to be obstructed.
Later, Afridi chaired a meeting with Punjab-based lawmakers from his party, where further plans for public mobilisation were discussed. He reiterated his claim that Lahore residents had joined the movement without being formally called to protest.
Expressing confidence in the movement’s success, Afridi said he expected it to succeed by September 27 and urged people to come out of their homes.
Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari presented a contrasting account, accusing the KP chief minister and his cabinet of neglecting provincial affairs while remaining in Lahore.
Bokhari said medical staff and other government employees in KP were holding protests and strikes while Afridi and members of his cabinet were in Lahore.
She said young doctors in Dera Ismail Khan were observing a strike over their demands, while the Medical Stores Association in KP was also engaged in industrial action. She claimed the protests were creating difficulties for patients and their attendants at government hospitals.
The minister also said employees of Gomal University were continuing their protest, arguing that industrial action had affected several sections of KP’s public sector.
“If Sohail Afridi chose to sit on the footpath at Lakshmi Chowk of his own accord, it is being described as a conspiracy against KP,” Bokhari said.
She called on Afridi and his cabinet to return to KP and concentrate on provincial matters, saying they had witnessed Lahore’s development and should now focus on their own province.
Bokhari also criticised the KP government over what she described as incompetence, inefficiency and corruption. She accused the chief minister of focusing more on the political situation surrounding an imprisoned party leader than on issues confronting the people of KP.
The exchange of allegations highlights the growing political tensions between the governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
