KP CM Sohail Afridi obtains protective bail before heading to Adiala Jail

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday granted protective bail to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, restraining law enforcement agencies from arresting him in any case until November 18.

A two-judge bench headed by senior puisne Judge Justice Ijaz Anwar and comprising Justice Muhammad Naeem Anwar heard the chief minister’s plea. Afridi personally appeared before the court during the proceedings.

Justice Ijaz Anwar inquired whether any first information reports (FIRs) were registered against the chief minister. Responding to the query, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel said, “We are not aware of the exact number of FIRs. It is possible that there might even be one against me.”

After hearing the arguments, the bench approved Afridi’s request for protective bail and directed that he should not be arrested in any case until the specified date.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, the newly appointed chief minister said that those obstructing his planned meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan “should understand that a provincial chief minister is coming.”

Afridi clarified that he had not yet met Imran Khan since his incarceration and dismissed a list of purported cabinet members circulating on social media as “fake.”

Soon after the court proceedings, PTI lawyer Naeem Panjhuta wrote on social media platform X that Chief Minister Afridi had left for Adiala Jail to meet Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned since August 2023 in several cases.