Peshawar [Pakistan], December 29 (ANI): Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has written to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, expressing “deep concern” over the treatment he received during his three-day visit to Lahore, which he described as marked by “discourtesy and unnecessary hostility”, Dawn reported.
In a two-page letter shared on X by the KP government, Afridi formally objected to the Punjab government’s conduct during and after his visit. “I write to you with deep concern and strong exception to the manner in which my recent visit to the Province of Punjab was handled, and the events that deliberately unfolded during and after the visit,” he said.
Elaborating on his concerns, Afridi stated that the “sequence of actions witnessed was neither accidental nor administrative in nature”, adding, “It reflects conduct that is wholly incompatible with the dignity of constitutional office and the spirit of inter-provincial respect.”
He said he undertook the visit in his official capacity as chief minister but alleged that established norms were violated throughout. “Regrettably, the treatment accorded to me was marked by discourtesy, unnecessary hostility, and protocol deviations that cannot be justified under any accepted standard of inter-provincial engagement,” Afridi wrote.
The KP chief minister further criticised what he described as an excessive security posture adopted by the Punjab government. He said sweeping detentions and visible enforcement measures conveyed “a message of intimidation rather than cooperation”, Dawn reported. According to Afridi, “such measures were neither proportionate nor warranted and conveyed an intent that went well beyond legitimate security considerations”.
He also alleged that the measures disrupted normal life in Lahore during his visit. Afridi said “even public places, including food streets and markets, were completely sealed, and whole blackouts were affected, venues denied, paining the common citizens of Lahore at this expense”. He added that “free access, as provided for in the Constitution, was even denied at Motorway rest areas”.
Beyond administrative actions, Afridi raised concerns over what he described as a “coordinated and malicious social media campaign” that accompanied and followed his visit. “Serious insinuations- specifically linking with narcotics were injected into public discourse,” he said, alleging that these claims were amplified by accounts “widely perceived to be aligned with, or operating under the umbrella of, the Government of Punjab”, Dawn reported.
Condemning this, Afridi said, “Let me state this clearly: the use of state-linked digital platforms to circulate or amplify defamatory insinuations against a sitting Chief Minister of another province is unacceptable, irresponsible, and institutionally indefensible.”
“Allegations of such gravity cannot be floated through innuendo or suggestion; they require evidence, jurisdiction, and lawful process,” he added, saying that “anything short of that constitutes character assassination”.
Taken together, Afridi argued that the actions reflected a deliberate pattern. “Taken together — protocol degradation, excessive policing optics, and synchronised digital vilification — the pattern is too consistent to be dismissed as coincidental,” he wrote, alleging “planning and intent, aimed at humiliation rather than engagement”.
He warned that such conduct undermined federal harmony. According to the letter, “such actions undermine federal harmony, erode public trust in provincial institutions, and [set] a dangerous precedent where constitutional officeholders are targeted through insinuation rather than addressed through formal channels”. He described the conduct as “beneath the status of a provincial government” and said it damaged the “collective credibility of federating units”.
Concluding his letter, Afridi said, “I place on record my strong protest and rejection of the treatment meted out to me and of the defamatory narratives propagated during this episode.” He added, “I expect that your government will ensure that such conduct — administrative as well as digital — is neither repeated nor normalised, and that accountability is enforced where required.”
Separately, Afridi also condemned the Punjab government’s conduct during a cabinet meeting, calling it “undemocratic, reprehensible and contrary to national unity”, Dawn reported. “The way me and my cabinet members were treated, the whole world witnessed it,” he said.
“When the country is going through political and economic instability, such an attitude — at a time when we need national unity — will only fan flames of hatred,” the chief minister said. He further alleged that “violence was perpetrated against cabinet members by the Punjab government”, adding that roads were blocked, markets shut, motorway rest areas sealed, and that “turning off the lights during a visit to Mazar-e-Iqbal is extremely regrettable”.
Afridi described the conduct as “such an attitude — reflecting Punjab government’s moral and intellectual depravity — was condemnable and alarming”. He warned that the actions were “especially alarming given the instability in the country” and said continuing this behaviour meant “they were sowing hatred and division”.
“We condemn the attitude in the strongest of words,” he said, adding that hateful conduct was “detrimental to the country”.
During the meeting, Afridi instructed KP officials to ensure hospitality toward visiting officials or chief ministers from other provinces in line with cultural norms. He also highlighted that the federal government had yet to release funds owed to KP’s merged districts under the Accelerated Implementation Programme.
“Work remains stalled in our merged districts because of it,” he said, adding that the Centre owed KP PKR 4,758 billion. “It has been more than half a year, and we have not yet received the funds under AIP,” he said, adding that even committed amounts had not been released.
Afridi was in Lahore to launch PTI’s street movement and arrived on Friday afternoon before heading to the Punjab Assembly. His visit was marked by altercations between members of his entourage and security officials, as well as heated exchanges between PTI leaders and journalists, Dawn reported.
During the visit, Afridi criticised the Punjab government’s behaviour, saying, “This shows their mean mentality, which cannot be approved in a civilised society,” and alleging that the “Punjab government is fanning hatred between the two provinces.”
He later invited Maryam Nawaz to visit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying he would demonstrate how democratic forces respect the office of a provincial chief executive.
In a separate incident during the visit, when Afridi’s entourage reached Lahore’s Food Street for dinner, restaurants were shut, lights were turned off, and members of the public were asked to leave the area. (ANI)
