Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and some members of his cabinet were taken into preventive custody on Sunday after the suspension of the provincial government under emergency rule, federal junior interior minister Talal Chaudhry confirmed to Reuters on Monday. The PTI, Afridi’s party, has called the move political victimisation, demanded the immediate and unconditional release of its leaders, and alleged that Afridi, provincial party president Junaid Akbar and KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati were abducted.
Minister confirms detentions to Reuters
Chaudhry told Reuters that the chief minister and some of his cabinet members had been taken into preventive custody, adding that the detentions happened on Sunday. He said that if any of them face pending cases, they will be charged and tried, while the rest will be released.
The federal government’s confirmation came a day after the PTI first raised the alarm. A couple of hours after the imposition of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was announced on Sunday, the party claimed that Afridi, who had been leading its protest march towards Islamabad, had been taken into custody along with some other leaders, according to Dawn. Shafi Jan, an aide accompanying Afridi on the march, claimed his boss had been taken into custody, while PTI lawmaker Shahid Khattak also claimed Afridi had been arrested.
PTI calls it political victimisation
The PTI issued a statement condemning the detentions, describing them as political victimisation and an attempt to weaken the province’s elected leadership and democratic institutions. Party spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said the arrest of the chief minister could not be viewed in isolation from the federal government’s decision to impose emergency and governor’s rule, arguing that the developments reflect a broader effort to bypass elected institutions and undermine the constitutional authority of the province.
Akram demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Afridi, Akbar and all other political detainees held in connection with the ongoing action against the PTI, and called on the federal government to publicly disclose the legal grounds, specific charges and procedural basis for the detentions.
Conflicting accounts of the custody
The two sides are describing the situation in very different terms. Sources cited by Dawn said Afridi and Junaid Akbar were under house arrest under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance. Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar characterised the move as protective custody rather than formal arrest.
In his earlier appearances, Talal Chaudhry had declined to confirm whether Afridi was among those detained, telling Geo News that some individuals had been held for law and order reasons. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told a press conference in Islamabad that people not wanted in any case would be released, while Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said any formal arrest would be publicly declared.
From the party’s side, secretary general Salman Akram Raja said in a video message posted on the PTI’s official X account: “We do not know where Sohail Afridi is, in what condition he has been kept. Junaid Akbar is also missing.” The PTI further claimed that Afridi, Swati and Akbar had been abducted, adding that many of its national and provincial lawmakers had already been taken away in recent weeks. Akram later told Geo News that the party had received reports of the detentions but could not reach several people, saying internet suspensions in parts of the province had cut off contact.
Background: emergency in KP
The detentions follow a dramatic escalation in the standoff between Islamabad and Peshawar. On Sunday, the federal cabinet approved emergency measures and President Asif Ali Zardari signed the emergency proclamation for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Articles 232 and 234, effectively suspending the PTI-led provincial government. The provincial administration is now being overseen by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, and Dr Fakhr Alam Irfan has taken charge as the new chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The same day, Islamabad was placed on high alert, with security tightened in and around the Red Zone and Section 144 imposed across the federal capital. Afridi had been leading a PTI protest march toward Islamabad demanding the release of jailed party founder Imran Khan when the detentions took place.
What happens next
For now, the fate of the detained leaders appears to depend on whether the authorities find pending cases against them. The junior interior minister’s statement points to a sorting process: those wanted in criminal cases will be dealt with under the law, while the rest will be sent home. The PTI, meanwhile, is pressing for disclosure of the legal basis for the detentions and has vowed to resist the emergency through political and legal means, as covered in PakMirror’s latest Pakistan politics coverage.
With a National Assembly session scheduled for Tuesday and opposition parties rejecting the takeover, the crisis is set to dominate the country’s politics in the coming days.
