KP CM Sohail Afridi among five PTI MPAs declared proclaimed offenders

ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad has declared Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and four other PTI MPAs as proclaimed offenders after they repeatedly failed to appear before the court in cases related to the November 26 protest, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

The ATC also declared provincial minister Meena Khan Afridi, Shafiullah Jan, Iqbal Afridi, and Amjad Ali as proclaimed offenders, as all the accused ignored multiple court summons.

The hearing was presided over by ATC Judge Abu Al-Hasanat Muhammad Zulqarnain. On the court’s order, advertisements were published in newspapers formally declaring the accused as proclaimed offenders.

According to the court’s proclamation notice, the accused have been directed to appear before the court within 30 days, failing which further legal action will be initiated.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Islamabad had requested the ATC to initiate proclamation proceedings, stating that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is nominated in terrorism-related cases but has consistently avoided court appearances.

The CTD informed the court that non-bailable arrest warrants issued against Sohail Afridi, Meena Khan Afridi, Dr Amjad, and others have remained unexecuted. The department requested the issuance of proclamations under Section 87 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The court, acknowledging the warrants’ non-execution and multiple ignored summons, directed authorities to paste proclamation notices outside the residences of Sohail Afridi, Meena Khan Afridi, and Dr Amjad.

CTD Islamabad further stated that two terrorism cases are registered against Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in the federal capital.

Earlier, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi claimed that Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar declined to meet him when he sought permission to meet the party founder.

According to sources, Sohail Afridi, Aleema Khanum, and their legal team arrived at the Islamabad High Court to file a plea seeking permission to meet the PTI founder and to meet the Chief Justice. However, they later left the court premises after being informed by the Chief Justice’s Secretariat that the meeting could not take place.