ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad district and sessions court on Wednesday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in a case involving allegations of making misleading statements against state institutions.
The case was registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority (NCCIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016. Afridi is accused of issuing remarks that allegedly damaged the credibility of state institutions.
Senior Civil Judge Abbas Shah, who presided over the hearing, observed that the chief minister had failed to appear before the court despite repeated summons. Taking a serious view of his absence, the court ordered authorities to arrest Afridi and produce him before the court.
The judge noted that Afridi had been given multiple opportunities to respond to the allegations but continued to ignore court notices without lawful justification. The court termed his conduct a deliberate attempt to evade the legal process and adjourned the hearing until February 10, directing authorities to submit a report on the execution of the arrest warrants at the next hearing.
Responding to the court’s action, Afridi claimed he was being politically targeted through a series of attempts to undermine him. In a statement on X, he said efforts were first made to prevent his election as chief minister, followed by what he described as false allegations of drug trafficking and smuggling, and later attempts to link him with terrorist groups.
He said his name did not appear in any case related to the May 9 unrest but alleged that new attempts were now being made to implicate him after earlier efforts failed. Repeating his claim about responsibility for the unrest, Afridi said: “The whole nation knows that ‘whoever stole the CCTV footage is the same one who planned May 9’.”
He further said that instead of conspiring against him or his party, authorities should engage in dialogue with former prime minister Imran Khan to resolve the country’s political crises and establish lasting peace.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information Shafi Jan criticised the issuance of the arrest warrants, calling it an attempt to block a protest planned for February 8. He alleged that legal action was being used as a political tool and said the public was fed up with what he described as imposed political actors.
“We have vowed to roll up the bed of those who practise anti-people politics,” he said, adding that a “rejected group” was resorting to cheap tactics to revive its political relevance.
