• Afridi claims 2,000 workers detained by police, reiterates ‘abduction’ allegations
• Bokhari asks CM to focus on KP, terms allegations ‘political rhetoric’
• Lahore faces traffic jams due to ‘security measures’ against PTI protesters
LAHORE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday alleged a crackdown on party supporters in the provincial capital, as he left Lahore after spending two days in the city to mobilise PTI supporters ahead of the Sept 27 protest drive.
Addressing workers on the Mall before his departure, the CM said Punjab was suffering from severe “civilian martial law” and that democratic values had been trampled in a “stifling atmosphere”. The CM claimed that over 2,000 workers had been detained by the Punjab police over the past two days. The Punjab police were harassing their own citizens and subjecting them to state oppression, besides violating the sanctity of households, he alleged.
In an earlier video message, the CM repeated his claim that he had been abducted by the police in a van and driven around for 15 minutes before being abandoned on a pavement without his security detail — a statement dismissed by Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari as “political rhetoric”.
He claimed that he had been driven around Lahore for about 15 minutes without security before being left on a roadside. He termed the incident a serious security risk and accused the Punjab government and police of attempting to suppress his party’s political activities through what he described as a “well-planned conspiracy”.
The CM also said that Punjab police had blocked routes, arrested party workers and removed tents from a protest camp as his supporters gathered for the street movement. He said the police had switched off lights along some of the routes and sealed off petrol stations to prevent vehicles carrying protesters from refuelling.
The KP CM alleged that raids were being conducted at people’s homes and accused the Punjab police of being politicised. He warned that his party would respond strongly if its activities continued to be obstructed.
Later, CM Afridi chaired a meeting of Punjab’s parliamentarians. He said he was confident the movement would succeed on Sept 27 and called on people to come out of their homes.
Azma responds to CM
In response to the CM’s allegations, Azma Bokhari told him to take care of his own province, saying it had been left at the mercy of ‘looters’. In a statement, Ms Bokhari said a strike by young doctors was continuing in Dera Ismail Khan, while the Medical Stores Association had also launched a separate strike across the province. She said patients and their attendants were being left to “wander from pillar to post” at government hospitals in KP because of the protests.
Employees of Gomal University were also continuing their agitation, she said, adding, “Doctors, medical stores and teachers are on strike in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but the chief minister and his cabinet are busy touring Lahore.”
Ms Bokhari took a swipe at the KP chief minister, saying that if Mr Afridi and his cabinet had seen Lahore’s development, they should now return and “take care of their own province”. She also criticised the KP government over its political rhetoric, saying that the chief minister had chosen to sit on a footpath at Lakshmi Chowk in Lahore of his own accord, but it was being portrayed as a conspiracy against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Perhaps the chief minister is more concerned about the prisoner in Adiala jail than about the people of his province,” she alleged.
Lahore traffic jams
The provincial capital witnessed a traffic mess due to the security measures reportedly taken by the police to disperse the street movement announced by the KP CM. According to reports from various parts of the city, traffic on Ferozepur Road, Main Boulevard, Jail Road, the Mall, and the Canal Road faced disruptions, while an entire section of Ferozepur Road from Kalma Chowk to Mozang was barricaded by the police. The police took similar measures from Mozang Chowk to Chauburji and the Civil Secretariat. Traffic officials failed to devise an alternative plan to divert traffic. Witnesses said several families and ambulances also got stuck in hours-long traffic blockages.
Asif Chaudhry also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2026
