ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on Thursday that he would not visit Adiala jail again before Sept 27 unless the government officially confirmed a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan.
He also called for the closure of important government offices, including the Prime Minister’s Office, alleging that they had become dysfunctional.
Speaking to the media outside Adiala jail, the KP chief minister said the situation at the prison indicated that the authorities had no intention of allowing him to meet Imran Khan.
“I have come to Adiala for the last time before Sept 27. I will return only when the government itself confirms the meeting,” he said.
It is worth mentioning that Mr Afridi’s name was also included in the list of people who intended to meet Imran Khan on Thursday.
Mr Afridi warned that if the meeting was not allowed, PTI workers would block roads across the country from 10pm on Thursday as part of the party’s “D-Chowk” protest. He urged party workers to prepare to take to the streets carrying national and PTI flags, saying the protest would convey a message that the treatment meted out to the country’s most popular leader since April 2022 was unacceptable.
According to PTI media cell, protests were held in different cities. Workers went to the chowks and chanted slogans in favour of Imran Khan.
Mr Afridi alleged that even government ministers were acknowledging that the country and its system had been paralysed, claiming that the government had failed.
He said the people of Pakistan wanted their issues to be resolved and that this could only be ensured by Imran Khan. He said he would march towards Islamabad on Sept 27 along with two million people.
Mr Afridi urged PTI workers and the public to focus on Sept 27, describing the date as a “nightmare” for the authorities. He claimed that people were enthusiastic and that a large number of supporters had gathered in Khyber district at short notice on Wednesday.
He said a similar street movement would be launched in other districts and claimed that more than two million people would participate in the Sept 27 mobilisation. He added that a street movement would be held in Bannu on Sunday.
He said anyone carrying the flags of Pakistan and PTI would be considered a supporter of Imran Khan.
The chief minister’s warning came amid continuing PTI protests and demands for access to its incarcerated founder. The Islamabad High Court has ordered the jail administration to arrange meetings with family members and lawyers on Tuesdays and with party leaders on Thursdays, but the orders have not been implemented for several months.
Later in the night, while talking to the media, Mr Afridi said there were orders from three judges allowing meetings with Imran Khan twice a week, but the court orders were not being implemented.
“We have filed applications in courts for the implementation of the decisions, but the courts are helpless. In that case, we have every right to hold a protest. Even the prime minister said that he would ask about the meeting and then inform me. If such important offices are dysfunctional, they should be closed as they are consuming public funds. Poor people pay taxes and that money is spent on them,” he said.
The KP chief minister said even ministers were saying that the system had collapsed.
“Today, labourers, industrialists and all other segments of society have been saying that the country is not going in the right direction. Shehbaz Sharif used to say that if he got 30pc support from the establishment, he would deliver and change the fate of the masses, but he has failed despite getting full support,” he added.
Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2026
