KP CM Sohail Afridi alleges Wazirabad assassination bid; police say man was a constable

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has alleged that an armed man was sent to kill him during his tour of Punjab. Gujranwala police and the Punjab government reject the claim, saying the man his guards detained was a police constable on security duty.

What Afridi alleged

In a video released before dawn on Wednesday, 16 September, Afridi said his security team had caught a man in plain clothes while he was travelling from Sialkot to Wazirabad. "They had sent an assassin after us with the intention to kill," he said, as quoted by Dawn and The Express Tribune.

According to Afridi:

• a pistol was recovered from the man
• the man was handed over to the local station house officer (SHO)
• electricity was cut at the houses where he stayed in Sialkot and Wazirabad, and generators there were damaged

Afridi is in Punjab as part of PTI's street movement ahead of a nationwide protest and march on the capital planned for 27 September, to demand the release of party founder Imran Khan. The Express Tribune reported he said the party would share the detailed plan for that day a week in advance.

Earlier this week he had also accused Punjab police of briefly "abducting" him in Lahore, a claim Punjab officials denied.

What the police say

Gujranwala police and Wazirabad City police gave a different account. They identified the detained man as Constable Muqadas Ali, who they said was deployed on the chief minister's own security detail.

Police said:

• the constable showed his departmental identity card at the scene
• he was then "subjected to severe physical assault" by members of the chief minister's protection team, according to the statement reported by Dawn and ARY News
• the SHO was present and can be seen in footage and photos from the scene
• describing an on-duty officer as a "killer" was condemnable

Punjab government response

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari dismissed the allegation. She pointed to the constable's duty card and the SHO's presence, and remarked: "God knows why such fits of madness strike them as soon as they reach Wazirabad."

Her remark refers to the town's history: on 3 November 2022, Imran Khan was shot and wounded when a gunman opened fire on his container during a PTI march in Wazirabad.

Neither version has been independently verified. Searchable.pk has reported both accounts as given.

What it means for you

For residents of Lahore, Sialkot, Wazirabad and Gujranwala, the tour means rallies on main city roads. In Lahore, Afridi's rally moved along Ferozepur Road, Mozang Chungi, Lytton Road and Jain Mandir to Hall Road, according to The Express Tribune. The dispute also adds to tension between the PTI-run KP government and the PML-N-run Punjab government ahead of 27 September.

What happens next

• Going by Afridi's one-week-ahead pledge, PTI's detailed plan for 27 September should come out around 20 September.
• Watch for any further statement from Gujranwala police, the Punjab government or the KP government on the constable incident.
• Check local traffic updates before travelling on rally days.

Follow the rest of the day's political news on our politics desk, including the AJK president election.