Leaving the chief minister stranded far away and without support is a blatant insult to state protocol and democratic values and a dangerous attempt to create hatred and confrontation between the two provinces, said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 14th Sep, 2026) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan said that the alleged mistreatment of elected Chief Minister Sohail Afridi by the Punjab Police was unacceptable, adding that leaving the chief minister stranded far away and without support was a blatant insult to state protocol and democratic values.
Reacting on X, Shafi Jan said the alleged mistreatment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s elected Chief Minister Sohail Afridi by the Punjab Police was unacceptable.
He said that allegedly taking an elected chief minister into a Punjab Police vehicle in Lahore and separating him from his security personnel and official vehicles was an extremely serious, illegal and shameful act.
Leaving the chief minister stranded far away and without support was a blatant insult to state protocol and democratic values, he said. Shafi Jan held the Punjab government fully responsible for the incident.
He said any attempt to abduct or forcibly take an elected chief minister somewhere would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
He demanded an immediate explanation of the incident and action against those responsible.
Shafi Jan alleged that “Maryam Nawaz’s goons” abducted Chief Minister Afridi by putting him in a police vehicle and left him in a remote area.
He said the Punjab Police separated Chief Minister Afridi from his security and forcibly shifted him to another vehicle, before leaving him far away without security when pressure mounted.
He said the “police brutality” of Maryam Nawaz’s government was continuing on Punjab’s roads, alleging that after controversial statements against Pashtuns, there had now been an attempt to abduct Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s elected chief minister.
He said the alleged attempt to abduct Chief Minister Afridi would be considered an attack on the foundations of the federation.
Shafi Jan said an attempt to abduct an elected chief minister of a province was a blatant violation of the Constitution, democracy and respect for the federating units.
He said the Maryam Nawaz government would have to answer for its unconstitutional and undemocratic treatment of the elected chief minister.
He said the Punjab government’s action was a dangerous attempt to create hatred and confrontation between the two provinces, adding that the humiliation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s elected chief minister would not be tolerated.
Meanwhile, reacting on X to the statement regarding Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s alleged abduction, Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari said: “He himself is sitting in the van and having a video made with the cameraman and guards, and he was abducted? Shame on you, come to your senses.
He was released after being abducted while laughing and playing in a police van with cameramen and guards? I told you, Punjab will respond.”
Uzma Bukhari further said: “Observe another drama.
He himself went and sat in the police van; when the police officers asked him to get out, he scolded his guards and pushed them aside for obstructing his drama. This is contrived and cheap acting.
We are giving them respect, but they do not deserve it.”
It is also pertinent to mention that earlier Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had himself sat in a police vehicle to secure the release of his workers.
Sohail Afridi had told the police that he would not get out of the vehicle until his workers were released.
Later, according to PTI’s X account, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi told the media that an attempt had been made to abduct the chief minister of a province, after which he was left on the road and those involved departed.
He said it was not a minor matter and that pressure would now be brought to bear on them.
