Pakistan’s KP chief minister petitions top court to meet Imran Khan in prison

Newly elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Friday seeking permission to hold regular meetings with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan in jail.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice through the court’s registrar, Afridi requested directions to the federal interior ministry and Punjab’s home department to facilitate the meetings, citing the need for guidance on key governance and policy matters.

Afridi said he had already approached the relevant federal and provincial authorities through a formal letter dated October 15, but no meeting has yet been confirmed.

The petition argues that, as the head of a province of 45 million people, the chief minister must consult the party founder on urgent issues, including cabinet formation, economic challenges, and inter-provincial matters such as the ongoing wheat dispute with Punjab.

The plea further asks the court to allow periodic, supervised meetings between Afridi and Khan “in the public interest.”

The petition, filed through Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Faisal, was received at the Supreme Court’s R&I branch on October 16. Khan has been held at Adiala Jail since his conviction in multiple cases.

Khan, a former cricket star who served as Pakistan’s premier from 2018 until his ouster in a no-confidence vote in 2022, has been imprisoned since 2023 on several charges. His arrest triggered widespread protests across the country, further straining Pakistan’s already fragile political climate.

Following Khan’s arrest, violent demonstrations broke out nationwide, with protesters attacking military installations, setting government buildings on fire, and clashing with security forces.

The government described the unrest as a “coordinated attack on state institutions,” rejecting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s claim that the protests were spontaneous political demonstrations. In response, authorities launched a sweeping crackdown on PTI, detaining and prosecuting much of its senior leadership.

Courts have since found several PTI leaders guilty of orchestrating violent attacks on public and military infrastructure during the 2023 unrest that followed Khan’s arrest.