Agencies | Peshawar:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has emerged as a central figure in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s campaign for the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, taking an increasingly prominent role as tensions between the PTI-led provincial government and the federal administration intensify.
Afridi, 37, has been leading the party’s mobilisation efforts ahead of its planned march towards Islamabad. The protest, initially scheduled for September 27, was postponed to October 4 following a meeting of the PTI’s political committee. Afridi said the decision was intended to allow time for dialogue and an amicable resolution of the party’s demands.
The PTI has been demanding Khan’s release from prison, along with what it describes as respect for the rule of law, judicial independence and constitutional rights. Khan remains incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.
The political standoff has also involved restrictions on roads and transport routes leading towards Islamabad. Authorities had blocked several routes ahead of the proposed September 27 mobilisation, according to Pakistani media reports.
Afridi has accused the federal government of targeting PTI workers and elected representatives. He has also warned against any attempt to impose governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The federal government, meanwhile, has criticised the provincial administration over security and law-and-order issues and has warned that governor’s rule could be considered if the situation warrants it.
Afridi was born in Bara tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber district and later moved to Peshawar with his family. He studied economics at the University of Peshawar and became active in PTI’s student wing, the Insaf Students Federation.
He rose through the organisation’s ranks and remained publicly active during a period when much of the PTI leadership faced arrests following Khan’s detention in 2023.
Afridi won a seat in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in the February 2024 elections, contesting as an independent after PTI was prevented from using its traditional electoral symbol.
He subsequently served in the provincial cabinet and was elected chief minister in October 2025 after Ali Amin Gandapur stepped down.
As chief minister, Afridi has combined his administrative responsibilities with an active political role in the PTI’s campaign for Khan’s release.
His public positions have at times brought him into direct confrontation with the federal government and military establishment. He has criticised military operations in the province and called for a different approach to combating militancy.
At the same time, Afridi has held talks with federal officials. He met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad in February and said he did so in the interest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite political differences between the PTI and the federal government.
More recently, Afridi has also signalled an openness to dialogue over the PTI’s demands while warning that further confrontation could have serious consequences.
The PTI’s decision to postpone the Islamabad march followed several days of uncertainty within the party. Afridi said the political committee had unanimously agreed to begin the march from Peshawar on October 4.
He has continued to insist that the mobilisation will go ahead and has said party workers would reach Islamabad even if conventional transport is unavailable.
On September 28, Afridi reiterated that PTI workers would reach the capital on motorcycles, bicycles or on foot if necessary, and linked the October 4 mobilisation to demands for Khan’s release and access to medical treatment.
The federal government has maintained that it will not permit protests that disrupt public order or block major transport routes. The dispute has consequently widened beyond Khan’s imprisonment to questions concerning provincial autonomy, security, law and order and the relationship between the federal and provincial governments.
As the October 4 deadline approaches, Afridi remains the principal elected PTI figure leading the mobilisation from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while negotiations, political pressure and the possibility of further confrontation continue to shape the standoff.
