Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured newly-elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday that the federal government was willing to work with his administration for the national interest.

After a week-long constitutional and political crisis in the province over the chief minister’s election, Afridi was sworn in as the KP CM yesterday evening, with hundreds of PTI supporters present during the ceremony at the Governor House in Peshawar.

The lead-up to the election saw criticism from government ministers against Afridi but a statement on X by state broadcaster PTV News today said the premier had a talk with the new chief minister and congratulated him.

“The federation is ready to work with the you in the interest of Pakistan,“ the statement quoted PM Shehbaz as telling CM Afridi.

Separately, the Peshawar High Court granted protective bail to Afridi till November 18.

A two-member bench comprising PHC’s Senior Puisne Judge Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Muhammad Naeem Anwar took up Afridi’s bail application today, with the chief minister appearing before the court in person.

During the hearing, Justice Ijaz asked whether there were any first information reports (FIR) registered against the KP chief minister.

“We do not know how many FIRs there are. It is possible that there might be an FIR against me as well,” KP Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel told the court.

Subsequently, the court approved CM Afridi’s bail plea, barring his arrest in any case till November 18.

According to the court order, available with Dawn.com, the bench directed that details regarding criminal cases, if any, registered against Afridi be provided at the next hearing on November 18.

Speaking to the media outside the PHC, Afridi said that the federal and “those individuals who are preventing the meeting [with Imran] should realise that a province’s chief minister is coming”.

Responding to a reporter’s query, Afridi said he has not met Imran since he was imprisoned. He also refuted a list of names for his new cabinet that has been circulating on social media as “fake”.

Asked whether the provincial cabinet will be finalised after his meeting with the PTI founder, CM Afridi replied in the affirmative. “No action will be taken without the approval of our lifelong [party] chairman sahib,” he asserted.

‘Peaceful protest always an option’

Yesterday, the KP Home and Tribal Affairs Department had requested the secretary of its Punjab counterpart and the interior ministry secretary that “necessary arrangements” be made to facilitate Afridi’s meeting with Imran today, according to a letter shared by Niazi.

Shortly after today’s hearing, PTI lawyer Naeem Panjhuta said on social media platform X that Afridi had departed for Adiala Jail to meet party founder Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated since August 2023 in multiple cases.

CM’s Focal Person on Digital Media Yar Muhammad Khan Niazi also shared a video on X, saying that the chief minister was on his way to Adiala Jail.

Later in the afternoon, the PTI claimed that the authorities were “not letting” CM Afridi meet Imran, terming it the “real anti-Pakistan act”.

“They are isolating the very leadership that millions of Pakistanis trust. They fear the people standing together with Imran Khan,” the party said on its official X account.

Speaking at a checkpoint situated near Adiala jail, the chief minister assured the people gathered there that he would not disappoint them.

Later, he also spoke to the media outside the Adiala Jail, he said he had come there to meet Imran.

“Yesterday, the KP government had informed the federal and Punjab government that the [KP] chief minister would be meeting Imran today, but they did not respond,” he said, adding that he also spoke to PM Shehbaz.

“I thanked Shehbaz Sharif sahib, he called and congratulated me. I told him that […] our people should not [get affected] by our personal and political differences. I requested him to let me meet Imran, at which he said he would enquire [about the matter] and get back to me. But till now, there has been no response from him,” Afridi said.

The KP CM said they were trying to adopt all constitutional and legal means for his meeting with Imran.

But, he went on to say, “we had tried all [other] means in the past and will do so again”, highlighting that the PTI was criticised for practicing the politics of protests in that case.

“If courts don’t serve justice, if we adopted all constitutional means and still are not served justice, then peaceful protest is the only solution. We have always protested peacefully and we always have that option,” Afridi added.