• Turned away after two-hour wait, vows to return
• Secures pre-arrest bail from PHC
• PM tells Afridi Centre willing to work with him
• PTI says Imran made ‘statesmanlike offer’, not plea for parole

ISLAMABAD / PESH­AWAR: Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was denied a meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan during a visit to Adiala jail on Thursday.

Mr Afridi, recently ele­cted chief minister with the backing of PTI votes, waited outside the prison for around two hours bef­ore departing. Speaking to reporters, he said he would announce his cabinet after consulting Mr Khan and seeking his input.

He added that PTI “has always believed in peaceful political struggle” and that the option “will always remain open”. Mr Afridi said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had phoned to congratulate him on his election.

A statement on X by state broadcaster PTV News also said on Thursday that the premier had a talk with the new chief minister and congratulated him. “The federation is ready to work with you in the interest of Pakistan,” the statement quoted PM Shehbaz as telling CM Afridi, Dawn.com reported.

The chief minister claimed he had officially notified the Punjab government and the federal government of his plan to visit Adiala, but received no response. He added that the prime minister did not reply to his subsequent request, made during their phone call, to facilitate a meeting with Mr Khan.

Mr Afridi announced that an advisory council would be established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Responding to questions, he said that “Pakistan comes first” for him and his party.

As he left Adiala, Mr Afridi told reporters he would attempt the visit again.

CM gets protective bail

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday granted protective bail to Mr Afridi, directing law enforcement agencies not to arrest him until the next hearing, scheduled for Nov 18.

A two-member PHC bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Muhammad Naeem Anwar heard the petition seeking information about the cases registered against Mr Afridi, who was represented by Advocates Alam Khan Adenzai and Bashir Khan Wazir.

After hearing Mr Afridi’s counsel, the bench granted him protective bail.

“Mr Taimur Khan, assistant attorney general of Pakistan and Mr Shah Faisal Utmankhel, advocate general of KP, accept notice on behalf of the federation and province of KP,” the order sheet read. “They shall provide details regarding the cases, if any, registered against the petitioner on the next date.”

In the petition, Mr Afridi’s lawyers asked the bench to restrain the respondents — including the federal government, the National Accountability Bureau, the Federal Investigation Agency, police chiefs of Punjab and KP, Anti-Narcotics Force and Anti-Corruption Department — from taking any adverse action against the petitioner, including arrest, detention or harassment, until the final adjudication.

They stated that the petitioner, who has now been elected the KP chief minister, has consistently raised his voice against policies of the federal and Punjab governments and perceived them as detrimental to the interests of the people of KP to uphold the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.

Besides, they said that due to his political stance, Mr Afridi had strong apprehensions that the federal and Punjab governments, “in collusion with their law enforcement agencies”, were planning to arrest the petitioner in fabricated cases as a means to stifle his political activities.

The petition said that following his nomination as the KP chief minister, he learnt from the media that the respondents had lodged fabricated FIRs against Mr Afridi in different police stations across the country.

It stated that Mr Afridi’s unlawful arrest would not only infringe upon his personal liberty but would also have serious repercussions on the functioning of the provincial government and assembly proceedings, affecting the governance and public administration.

‘Act of statesmanship’

Separately, the PTI on Thursday rejected media reports that Imran Khan sought release on parole, saying the party founder’s recent message from Adiala Jail was not a plea for personal freedom but “a profound act of statesmanship”.

In a statement, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said Mr Khan’s communication was a “selfless offer” to help defuse the escalating national security crisis and restore Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan.

He added that the “immediate and unconditional” release of PTI patron-in-chief Imran Khan was, in the party’s view, essential for an “amicable, negotiated and lasting” resolution to tensions with Kabul and to the threat of terrorism.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2025