A Pakistani court has granted protective bail to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s newly elected Chief Minister Sohail Afridi ahead of his planned visit to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where he is expected to meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan.
Afridi left for Adiala shortly after securing bail.
Earlier, the chief minister had approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC) seeking protective bail through a writ petition and requested an urgent hearing on the matter.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Naeem Anwar heard the plea and approved Afridi’s request. The court directed authorities not to arrest him in any case until the next hearing.
The bench also issued notices to both provincial and federal authorities, instructing them to provide a complete record of all cases registered against the chief minister.
During the proceedings, Justice Ijaz Anwar questioned under which First Information Report (FIR) Afridi had been implicated.
Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmankhel, appearing before the court, responded that even the provincial government was unaware of the specifics.
“We ourselves don’t know — it’s possible that he might be nominated in one of them,” he remarked.
The Advocate General further informed the court that the chief minister was scheduled to meet Imran Khan at Adiala Jail in connection with cabinet approval. However, he expressed concern that Afridi could be arrested in an unspecified case in Punjab or Islamabad, and therefore sought the court’s protection through bail.
Granting protective bail until November 18, the court restrained authorities from arresting Afridi in any registered cases until the next hearing.
Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Afridi said he had not yet received a response to his request for a meeting with the PTI founder.
“I have a feeling they won’t allow me to meet him,” Afridi remarked, adding that it would be his first meeting with Khan inside jail.
He noted that he had never been permitted to meet the PTI founder before.
“There is no truth to the rumors about the cabinet, and no final decision would be made until I meet Khan,” Afridi clarified.
A day earlier, after assuming charge as chief minister, Afridi had written to the federal and Punjab governments requesting arrangements for his meeting with Khan.
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