Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has written a letter to Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz, expressing concerns over the reported manhandling of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s sisters by the Police in Rawalpindi. Sohail Afridi mentioned the obstacles to visiting the jailed prime minister in the letter.
The development comes after CM KP Sohail Afridi was denied permission to meet the founder of PTI, Imran Khan, for the seventh time on Thursday. Earlier on Wednesday this week, police in Rawalpindi reportedly manhandled and detained Imran Khan’s sister while they were protesting in front of Adiala jail.
PTI shared a written letter on its official X account.
Sohail fridi tried to draw Maryam’s attention in the letter to serious concerns regarding the administration of court-mandated visitation rights of Imran and the recent treatment of his family members.
“Clear and binding judicial directions govern Imran’s visitation schedule. These orders explicitly permit his close family members and nominated individuals to meet him on specified days. Despite the unambiguous nature of these instructions, repeated reports indicate persistent non-implementation by the authorities responsible for compliance,” the CM KP mentioned.
“These individuals are apolitical private citizens, seeking only to meet their brother in accordance with court permissions. Even if restrictions were to exist for political visitors – which is a different category altogether – there is no conceivable legal or administrative basis for obstructing or mishandling immediate family members whose presence is neither political nor disruptive in nature,” Sohail Afridi said.
“The current practice of stopping them nearly a kilometre away and compelling elderly family members – particularly women – to sit on roads is wholly inappropriate and must be discontinued,” he added.
Sohail Afridi urged the Punjab government to instruct jail authorities to allow individuals to meet the former prime minister.
