LAHORE (MNN); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday alleged that he was “abducted” by authorities in Lahore and later left by the roadside without security. The Punjab government rejected the allegation, saying Afridi had boarded a police vehicle voluntarily.
“We were abducted, and when they came under pressure from somewhere, they threw me by the roadside without security and left,” Afridi claimed.
He alleged that there had been a “conspiracy to abduct the chief minister of a province” and said he had previously warned that attempts were being made to “divide the country.”
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari, however, disputed the claim. She shared a video showing Afridi walking towards a Punjab Police vehicle and boarding it himself. In the footage, Afridi later refuses to leave the vehicle despite being asked to do so.
A post from Afridi’s official X account around 9pm said he had “himself got on a Punjab Police van” and reached a police station. An earlier post said he was present with party workers at a protest rally on Lahore’s Mall Road.
A senior KP government official accompanying Afridi told newsmen that the chief minister had boarded the police van to seek the release of detained party workers. While some workers were released, others remained inside the vehicle, prompting Afridi to refuse to disembark.
According to the official, police subsequently drove the van some distance away from the protest site before removing Afridi from the vehicle.
‘Insult to the mandate’
KP Information Minister Shafi Jan alleged that Punjab Police had attempted to abduct Chief Minister Afridi, claiming that he was separated from his security detail and forcibly moved into another vehicle.
Jan alleged that Afridi was taken to a remote location and later left without his security personnel after “pressure mounted.” He accused the Punjab government of “police high-handedness” and termed the treatment of the elected chief minister unconstitutional and undemocratic.
He warned that any attempt to abduct an elected chief minister would be viewed as an attack on the foundations of the federation and alleged that the incident could fuel hatred and confrontation between the two provinces.
PTI also condemned what it described as the arrest of KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, calling it an “insult” to the mandate and dignity of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The party said the incident, along with recent statements by the Punjab chief minister, could increase “resentment, mistrust and division” among the provinces.
PTI said it would not promote “provincialism, ethnicity, hatred or division” and stressed that the public mandate in all provinces should be respected.
The party urged its supporters to respond peacefully and democratically, maintaining that repression and political victimisation would only deepen public resentment.
