LAHORE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi claimed that he was kidnapped in Lahore. He said that Lahore police later dropped him on a road.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari rejected the allegation and said Afridi voluntarily entered a police vehicle during protests involving PTI workers.
Afridi claimed authorities abandoned him without security after coming under pressure from an unidentified source.
He also alleged that a conspiracy targeted the chief minister of a province and warned that such actions could threaten national unity.
Conflicting accounts emerge over incident
However, a senior KP official travelling with Afridi gave a different account of the incident.
The official said Afridi entered a police van while trying to secure the release of PTI workers detained during the day’s events.
Some workers were released, while others remained inside the vehicle. Afridi reportedly refused to leave as long as the detained workers remained there.
According to the official, police later drove the van away before removing Afridi from the vehicle.
Bokhari disputes abduction claim
Meanwhile, Bokhari said footage showed Afridi voluntarily entering the police vehicle and later refusing to leave.
She said PTI supporters gathered around the vehicle, prompting police to believe that protesters were attacking them.
Bokhari also rejected claims that police arrested Afridi, saying his guards and a cameraman remained with him.
Furthermore, she questioned why motorists had not reported seeing Afridi sitting beside the road.
Confusion also emerged from Afridi’s official X account, which published conflicting accounts about his movements during the protest.
One post said he boarded a Punjab Police van and reached a police station, while another placed him with party workers at a Mall Road rally.
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