Islamabad court issues non-bailable arrest warrants for KP CM Sohail Afridi

A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Wednesday issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in a case related to allegations involving state institutions.

The case concerns allegations that CM Afridi made misleading remarks against state institutions and damaged their credibility. The National Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Agency registered the case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016.

Civil judge Abbas Shah presided over the hearing and noted the absence of the chief minister during the proceedings.

The judge then ordered the issuance of arrest warrants to secure the presence of CM Afridi, ordering authorities to arrest him and produce him before the court, citing his failure to appear during the proceedings.

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The judge was informed that notices had already been issued, but Afridi did not appear. He adjourned the case until February 10 and asked the authorities to comply with the order and submit a report on the execution of the arrest warrants at the next hearing.

In response to the arrest warrants, Afridi said he was the target of what he described as a series of attempts to undermine him politically, including allegations linking him to crimes and terrorist groups.

In a statement on

Afridi said his name did not appear in any way linked to the May 9 unrest, but claimed there were now attempts to include him after other efforts failed.

He also reiterated his responsibility for the unrest, saying: “The whole nation knows that ‘the one who stole the CCTV footage is the same one who planned May 9’.”

“Instead of working so hard and conspiring against me or the PTI, they should sit down and talk to Imran Khan – the true representative of the Pakistani nation – so that Pakistan can come out of the crises and problems they have created and lasting peace can be established here,” he said.

Shafi Jan, special assistant to the chief minister on information, criticized the arrest warrants for Afridi, accusing authorities of using legal action to block an upcoming protest.

In a statement, Shafi Jan, special assistant to KP CM for information, said the non-bailable arrest warrant was aimed at stopping a protest planned for February 8. He said the public was fed up with what he described as negative political actors “imposed” on the federation.

“We have sworn to make way for those who practice anti-popular politics,” he declared. Shafi also accused what he called a “rejected group” of using cheap tactics to revive his politics.