Afridi calls off Adiala Road sit-in, says no update on Imran's health

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has called off the 16-hour-long protest sit-in on Adiala Road Rawalpindi that he staged to protest against denying a meeting with his jailed leader former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran khan.

- Tariq Butt

Afridi also protested that officials have yet to share any updates on the condition of Imran Khan. He told reporters at the Gorkhpur checkpoint that he and party workers remained at the demonstration site throughout the night between Thursday and Friday.

"We spent the night here with the workers - this was only one night," he said, adding, "If we have to spend our whole lives here for the PTI founder, we will do so. We have not yet been told anything about the condition of the PTI founder.

The chief minister said that they would not back down from their demands. "We will not retreat from our protests and sit-ins," he asserted.

Afridi said he has used "all constitutional and legal options" in an attempt to meet the PTI founder, but to no avail. "I have used every constitutional and legal path. What route is left for me to meet my leader?" he asked and said that despite a court order, neither he nor other party leaders were allowed to meet Imran.

Criticising the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he said, "Previously, those who would flee to London were allowed to meet groups of 50 people (in jail) at a time."