Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi apologised to the people of his province on Monday, saying that PTI workers had taken to the streets of their own accord.

His statement comes against the backdrop of protests at multiple places by PTI activists in KP. The party workers have blocked entry and exit points to the province, resulting in inconveniences for the people and KP being cut off from the rest of the country.

The protests began on Friday, simultaneously with sit-ins by opposition parliamentarians and Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan leaders in Islamabad, over PTI founder Imran Khan’s health.

When KP CM was asked today about what would be the next line of action for PTI workers, he said: “We have not given any line of action to the workers. The workers have come out on their own. Our strategy was just for the parliamentarians.”

He said the plan devised for parliamentarians was to stage a “peaceful sit-in” outside the Parliament in Islamabad. “But, unfortunately, some of us were stopped at the KP House, some at the Parliament Lodges and some at the Parliament House.”

He again reiterated that “no official call” had been given to party workers for the protest, and they had taken to the streets of their own accord.

“They have shut down KP,” he acknowledged, apologising to the people of the province.

He said the PTI was facing a hard time, with its leader jailed and facing health issues.

“The [PTI] workers might have acted emotionally, but you [the people] please have patience. You have voted for the PTI, and you love Imran Khan. So if you have faced difficulties for two or three days for his sake, I apologise. Please wait a little more, and the situation will get better,” Afridi said.