Tarar terms KP CM demand ‘illegal’ as PTI pushes for meeting with Imran

NOWSHERA: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Friday that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s demand for a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan was illegal, saying the former premier was in jail due to his conviction in a “mega corruption case”.

CM Afridi staged a 16-hour-long sit-in outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Road, demanding a meeting with Khan to inquire about his health.

Speaking to the media on Friday in Nowshera, Tarar said that the KP government’s behaviour was “regrettable and condemnable”.

“If they keep holding sit-ins, who will pay attention to the province? Demands are being made in violation of the jail manual,” he said.

Khan, who has been incarcerated since August 2023, faces multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism since his ouster from power via the opposition’s no-trust motion in April 2022.

Tarar said that the former prime minister was enjoying all facilities and privileges despite his conviction in a mega corruption case.

“The PTI founder destroyed the country’s economy and isolated Pakistan on the diplomatic front,” the minister added.

His remarks came as the PTI stepped up efforts to secure a meeting between the KP chief minister and the former prime minister in prison.

A day earlier, Afridi had attempted — for the eighth time since his election as KP chief minister last month — to meet Khan after rumours emerged about the former premier’s health and his relocation from the facility.

The prison administration refuted the reports, stating that the PTI founder was healthy and enjoying all the facilities inside the prison. Staff Report