LAHORE: A run-in with law enforcement ma­r­red Khyber Pakhtu­nkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s visit to Lahore on Monday, as he claimed he was “abdu­cted” by authorities and later “abandoned” by the roadside, while the provincial government den­ied any such move.

“We were abducted, and then, when they received pressure from somewhere, they threw me by the roadside without security and left,” CM Afridi claimed.

Speaking to mediapersons, he further alleged that there was a “conspiracy to abduct the chief minister of a province”, adding that he had earlier warned that “they want to divide the country”.

Speaking to Dawn, a KP government official accompanying CM Afridi said the chief minister had boarded a police van to secure the release of some detained party workers. While some workers were freed, others remained in the van, due to which he refused to disembark.

Azma terms it ‘a drama’, says KP CM boarded police vehicle of his own accord

The police then drove the van a reasonable distance from the spot before disembarking CM Afridi from the vehicle, he added.

However, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari claimed that the KP chief minister had boarded the police vehicle of his own accord.

In a video she shared on X, the KP CM can be seen voluntarily walking towards and boarding a police vehicle. He then refuses to dismount, while an individual can be heard asking the chief minister to “please leave the vehicle”.

Speaking on Dunya News, Ms Bokhari said that when PTI supporters swarmed the vehicle, the police thought they were being attacked.

“There were cameras [filming] them, and there was a video from inside the [vehicle],” she noted. “The driver thought the vehicle was being attacked, so he drove away, but stopped a short while later and said people got off and sat on the footpath.”

Ms Bokhari claimed that none of the motorists in the area bothered to note that CM Afridi was sitting on the footpath.

Asked if he had been arrested, the minister replied in the negative, citing a lack of police at the scene and the fact that his guards and a cameraman were present.

“This is a total drama because people did not come out from Lahore and Punjab,” she added.

When asked about CM Afridi’s claim that he had been released under pressure and left without any security, Ms Bokhari joked: “The only pressure in that scenario is his low blood pressure.”

A post on the KP chief minister’s official X account at around 9pm said CM Afridi “himself got on a Punjab Police van and reached a police station”. Another post, published minutes earlier, said he was present with party workers at a protest rally on Lahore’s Mall Road.

‘Insult to the mandate’

Shafi Jan, the CM’s aide, alleged that Punjab Police had attempted to abduct the KP CM, claiming that he was separated from his security detail and forcibly moved into another vehicle.

In a statement, Mr Jan alleged that CM Afridi was put into a police vehicle and taken to a remote area, where he was later abandoned without his security detail.

He accused the Maryam Nawaz government of “high-handedness” and said the treatment of the elected chief minister was unconstitutional and undemocratic.

The PTI also condemned the alleged “arrest” of CM Afridi in Punjab, calling it an “insult” to the mandate and dignity of the people of the province.

In a statement, the party said the incident, along with recent statements by the Punjab chief minister, risked fuelling “resentment, mistrust and division” among the provinces.

The PTI said it would not engage in “provincialism, ethnicity, hatred or division”, stressing that the mandate of people across all provinces must be respected.

The party urged its supporters to respond peacefully and democratically, saying repression and political victimisation would only deepen public resentment.

Lahore visit

Earlier, the chief minister turned his Lahore visit into a full-fledged political showdown, lashing out at the Punjab government, refusing security and vowing to rid the country of “fake rulers” through a nationwide street movement on Sept 27.

He had altered his Punjab visit plan and chose to travel directly to Lahore to offer condolences to the bereaved family of party worker, who had succumbed to burn injuries over the weekend.

As the Punjab Police escort created hurdles for party leaders and workers trying to join him, CM Afridi admonished the policemen, calling them “shameless”.

Responding directly to Punjab CM Maryam, who had said she felt threatened by other provinces, he said: “She feels threatened not by India but by the other three provinces of Pakistan. I announce today that I feel no threat from my brothers and sisters in Punjab.”

The KP chief minister and his cabinet members’ convoy faced police blockades while entering Punjab and later within Lahore, where all entry and exit points had been sealed.

As the chief minister and his convoy travelled through the city, tensions also ran high between police and PTI workers on several occasions, with reports of scuffles.

Earlier, the KP chief minister and his cabinet members received a rousing welcome from party workers at several points along their route. Workers chanted slogans as Afridi addressed them at Do Moriya Pul on Circular Road.

Hundreds of party workers lined the city roads, prompting the KP CM to make several stops. He waved to the crowds and raised slogans while standing through the sunroof of his vehicle.

The rally, however, caused severe traffic congestion in the Walled City, with frequent stops forcing commuters to use adjoining streets.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2026