(From left) This collage shows Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, dysfunctional chief minister Sohail Afridi, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf KP President Junaid Akbar. — APP/NNI/Facebook/NationalAssemblyOfPakistan/File
- Sohail Afridi taken away after officers enter locked room.
- Babar Swati, Junaid Akbar also in protective custody.
- Detained PTI leaders reportedly being kept at same location.
PESHAWAR: Dysfunctional Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi and other senior PTI leaders taken into protective custody are being held together at an undisclosed location, according to information available with Geo News.
Afridi was taken into custody from the Chief Minister House in the early hours of October 11 after arrangements had been completed and the Red Zone sealed by around 5am.
The chief minister was alone inside his locked room when the door was broken open and two officers entered.
The officers remained with Afridi for around 30 to 40 minutes and held a conversation with him in a cordial atmosphere. Afridi was reportedly anxious at the time.
He was subsequently taken into custody and moved to an undisclosed location. He was not handcuffed and no inappropriate treatment was reported during the process.
KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati was meanwhile taken into protective custody from the Speaker House, where former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Khalid Khurshid was also present.
PTI leader Junaid Akbar, who was reportedly in a room connected to the kitchen at the Speaker House, was also taken into protective custody.
According to information available with Geo News, the PTI leaders were taken away with “dignity and respect” and are currently being held together at the same undisclosed location.
Their mobile phones and other belongings have also been taken away.
Meanwhile, advocate Muhammad Bashir, who had filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court against Afridi’s detention, was picked up from outside the court premises.
Lawyers subsequently approached the Peshawar High Court chief justice, who advised them to submit a petition. Bashir was released shortly afterwards.
Reports indicated that he had been detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
