K-P CM ends Adiala sit-in after failed talks as security around jail tightened

Sit-in began Thursday evening and lasted till 8am Friday; five layered checkpoints set up around Adiala

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi on Friday morning ended his nearly 15-hour sit-in at Factory Naka near Adiala Jail after a night of negotiations with jail officials, none of which yielded the assurances he had sought.

Afridi had launched the protest at around 5:15 pm on Thursday after authorities once again denied him permission to meet the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder — the eighth such refusal since he assumed office.

The sit-in continued until 8 am on Friday, drawing party workers to the site as talks stretched through the night.

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Announcing the decision to wind up the protest, Afridi told reporters he had exhausted “all constitutional and legal options” in his efforts to secure a meeting. “What path is left for me through which I can meet my leader?” he asked, adding that despite a court order, neither he nor other PTI leaders had been allowed access to the party’s jailed founding chairman.

Afridi also recalled earlier incidents in which the founder’s sisters were stopped on Adiala Road, alleging they had been humiliated. “All of this is being done to break the founder. Bushra Bibi is being targeted,” he said. He claimed that in the past “those who fled to London” were granted dozens of visitors inside the same facility.

“As I stand here, the court’s orders are not being implemented,” he added. “The whole night has passed, and now morning has come, yet I am not allowed to meet him.”

Afridi announced he would now proceed to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), saying he would inform the chief justice that three judges had issued written directives allowing the meeting. “If courts cannot ensure compliance with their own orders, the country will slip into the law of the jungle,” he warned.

Following his departure for Islamabad, PTI workers dispersed from the protest site.

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Earlier, Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, speaking at the sit-in, said the protest had not been planned.

According to him, Afridi had expected that written orders from the Supreme Court and the High Court would suffice for a meeting with the party founder. “The chief minister saw that no one here understands the language of decency,” he said, describing Afridi’s decision to sit on the road as the act of a “democratic Pashtun.”

Achakzai claimed the sit-in could have continued until the court issued another directive while suggesting that if PTI wanted the founder’s sisters to be allowed a meeting, the party should “use people’s power to stop parliamentary and Senate proceedings.”

He further said it was a “matter of shame” that assemblies continued to function while the party founder remained behind bars. Achakzai added that he and other leaders would accompany Afridi to the IHC after Fajr prayers.

Security around Adiala Jail tightened

Meanwhile, security around Adiala Jail was placed on high alert overnight due to the evolving law and order situation, with five layered checkpoints set up around the facility for the first time.  More than 700 personnel and 23 inspectors were deployed on rotational duty as part of an indefinite security plan, according to police sources.

Heavy contingents were stationed at Naka Dahgal, Gate One, Gate Five, Factory Naka and Gorakhpur, with duty divided into two 12-hour shifts. SHOs from 12 police stations — along with female officers — were assigned to the deployment.

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Personnel from the Riot Management Force, Punjab Constabulary and local police were equipped with rubber bullets, tear gas, batons, shields and anti-riot gear. Ten traffic officers and a vehicle lifter were also positioned near the jail, while prisoner vans remained on standby. The Adiala guard force was instructed to stay available after completing court duties.

Police sources said SHOs and staff from Gujar Khan, Mandra, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, Dhamial, Chakri, Rawat, Chontra, Women Police, Morgah, Cantt and Saddar Baironi stations had been deployed to reinforce the security cordon. The SP Saddar was tasked with supervised oversight of the arrangements.