By Staff Reporter
RAWALPINDI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s political impasse deepened on Tuesday when Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was again denied access to Adiala Jail to consult the imprisoned founder of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Imran Khan, despite court orders permitting the meeting.
Afridi, sworn in this month, traveled to Rawalpindi for the third time in recent weeks to discuss cabinet formation. Prison authorities barred entry, citing security concerns. Last week, Afridi held a brief sit-in outside the facility before leaving.
On Tuesday, he told reporters he would file a contempt petition in the Islamabad High Court. “It is my constitutional right to meet the PTI founder, as I was nominated by Imran Khan and am the representative of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.” He added that he sought Khan’s guidance on the provincial cabinet and would name ministers only after the meeting.
Uzma Khanum, Khan’s sister, who met him on Monday, conveyed a different directive. Speaking outside the jail, she quoted the former prime minister as telling Afridi that “the CM should form a cabinet of his choice and as per the need of the hour.”
Khan urged a “small team” but offered no names, Khanum said. She noted his concern over the delay in notifying Mahmood Khan Achakzai, as National Assembly opposition leader and stressed that only party secretary Salman Akram Raja was authorised to relay his messages.
In Peshawar, opposition lawmakers criticised the cabinet delay, saying government functions had stalled and warning that prolonged inaction could invite a federal emergency.
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