The sit-in began on Thursday evening and lasted until Friday at 8.00; five tiered checkpoints set up around Adiala
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi participates in a sit-in at Factory Naka near Adiala Jail on Friday. SCREEN GRAB
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi on Friday morning ended his nearly 15-hour sit-in at Factory Naka near Adiala Jail after a night of negotiations with jail officials, none of whom gave the assurances he had sought.
Afridi had launched the protest around 5.15 pm on Thursday after the authorities once again denied him permission to meet the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder – the eighth refusal since he assumed office.
The sit-in continued until 8 a.m. on Friday, drawing party workers to the site as talks stretched into the night.
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Announcing the decision to end the protest, Afridi told reporters that he had exhausted “all constitutional and legal options” in his efforts to secure a meeting. “Which way is left for me to meet my leader?” he asked, adding that despite a court order, neither he nor other PTI leaders had been given access to the party’s jailed founding chairman.
Afridi also recalled earlier incidents where the founder’s sisters were stopped on Adiala Road and alleged that they had been humiliated. “All this is being done to break the founder. Bushra Bibi is being targeted,” he said. He claimed that “those who fled to London” used to receive dozens of visitors in the same facility.
“As I stand here, the orders of the court are not being implemented,” he added. “The whole night has passed, and now the morning has come, but I will not be allowed to meet him.”
Announcing that he would now proceed to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Afridi said he would inform the Chief Justice that three judges had issued written directives allowing the meeting. “If the courts cannot ensure compliance with their own orders, the country will slide into the law of the jungle,” he warned.
After his departure to Islamabad, PTI workers were dispersed from the protest site.
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Earlier, Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, speaking at the sit-in, said the protest was not planned.
According to him, Afridi had expected that written rulings from the Supreme Court and the High Court would suffice for a meeting with the party founder. “The chief minister saw that nobody here understands the language of decency,” he said, describing Afridi’s decision to sit on the road as the act of a “democratic Pashtun.”
Achakzai argued that the sit-in could have continued until the court issued another directive, while suggesting that if the PTI wanted the founder’s sisters to be allowed a rally, the party should “use people’s power to stop parliamentary and senate proceedings.”
He further said it was a “disgrace” that assemblies continued to function while the party founder remained behind bars. Achakzai added that he and other leaders would accompany Afridi to the IHC after Fajr prayers.
Security around the Adiala prison has been tightened
Meanwhile, security around the Adiala prison was put on high alert overnight due to the changing law and order situation, with five tiered checkpoints set up around the facility for the first time. More than 700 staff and 23 inspectors were deployed on rotational duty as part of an unrestricted security plan, according to police sources.
Heavy contingents were stationed at Naka Dahgal, Gate One, Gate Five, Factory Naka and Gorakhpur, with duty divided into two 12-hour shifts. SHOs from 12 police stations – along with women officers – were assigned for the deployment.
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Personnel from the Riot Management Force, Punjab Constabulary and local police were equipped with rubber bullets, tear gas, batons, shields and anti-riot equipment. Ten traffic officers and a vehicle lifter were also stationed near the prison while prison vans remained on standby. The Adiala Guard was instructed to remain available after completing court duties.
Police sources said SHOs and personnel from Gujar Khan, Mandra, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, Dhamial, Chakri, Rawat, Chontra, Women Police, Morgah, Cantt and Saddar Baironi stations had been deployed to reinforce the security cordon. SP Saddar was assigned to oversee the arrangements.
