LAHORE: On the second day of his visit to Lahore, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi reiterated allegations of police abuse against his party workers, prompting the Punjab government to question his presence in Lahore and remind him of the governance challenges and protests facing his own province.

In a video message, CM Afridi alleged that Punjab police had blocked routes, arrested party workers and removed tents from a protest camp as supporters gathered for the ongoing street movement. He also claimed that police had switched off lights along some routes and closed petrol stations to prevent vehicles carrying protesters from refuelling.

Afridi said he had remained in Lahore and would resume the street movement at 5pm. He claimed that a large number of Lahore residents had joined the movement on Monday despite his party not having issued a formal call for a protest.

“We had not told anyone where we were going. The people of Lahore came out themselves,” he said.

According to the KP CM, police detained several party workers in prison vans. He said he stood on top of one of the vehicles in protest and was later taken away in another police van after sitting inside it.

Afridi described the episode as his “abduction”, alleging that he was driven around Lahore for about 15 minutes without any security before being left on the roadside.

He termed the incident a serious security risk and accused the Punjab government and police of attempting to suppress his party’s political activities through what he described as a “well-planned conspiracy”.

The KP CM further alleged that raids were being conducted at people’s homes and that children were being abducted, while accusing the Punjab police of being politicised. He warned that his party would respond strongly if its activities continued to be obstructed.

Later, Afridi chaired a meeting of Punjab parliamentarians. Party leaders discussed further public mobilisation, with the CM reiterating his claim that Lahore residents had joined the movement without a formal protest call. Afridi said he was confident that the movement would succeed on Sept 27 and called on people to come out of their homes.

The Punjab government, however, offered a contrasting account of the situation. Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari said medical staff and other employees in KP were protesting and observing strikes while Afridi and members of his cabinet were in Lahore.

She said young doctors in Dera Ismail Khan were on strike over their demands, while the Medical Stores Association in KP was also observing a separate strike. According to Bokhari, patients and their attendants at government hospitals were facing difficulties because of the protests.

She also said employees of Gomal University were continuing their protest, arguing that several sections of KP’s public sector were affected by industrial action.

“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,” she said, referring to the KP CM’s account of events in Lahore.

Bokhari urged Afridi and his cabinet to return to KP and focus on provincial affairs, saying they had seen Lahore’s development and should now “go and look after their own province”.

She also criticised the KP government over what she described as incompetence, inefficiency and corruption, and accused the CM of being more concerned with the political situation surrounding a jailed party leader than with the problems facing people in KP.

The competing statements reflect broader political tensions between the Punjab and KP governments.