CM Afridi alleges man sent to 'assassinate' him en route to Wazirabad

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday alleged that an armed man was sent to "kill" him while he was travelling from Sialkot to Wazirabad. “They had sent an assassin after us with the intention to kill. When we arrived in Wazirabad, my security team apprehended this armed individual, recovered a pistol from him, and handed him over to the local Station House Officer,” Afridi said in a video statement shared by PTI on X. Afridi said he and his companions had been in Lahore the previous night at a dinner hosted at the residence of Mian Mahmood Rashid, claiming that the tents there were removed and the food was taken away by police after they left for Sialkot following a street movement in Lahore. He said the "electricity supply to the house where they were staying in Sialkot was disconnected and the generator was damaged, including its wires and other components". further added that, "They were then forced to move to the house of Umar Dar, where the electricity was also disconnected and the generator was subsequently damaged." “We were in severe heat,” Afridi said, adding that they travelled from Sialkot towards Wazirabad. [English Subtitles] “They had sent an assassin after us with the intention to kill. When we arrived in Wazirabad, my security team apprehended this armed individual, recovered a pistol from him, and handed him over to the local Station House Officer.” Chief Minister Khyber… pic.twitter.com/dHDBJtJGCo — PTI (@PTIofficial) September 16, 2026 Gujranwala police reject claim Gujranwala police rejected Afridi's claims, saying the person taken into custody was police official Ali, who was deployed for security duty. In a press release, the Gujranwala police said members of the chief minister’s protection team had allegedly identified him as a highly suspicious person despite his deployment on security duty. The statement said Ali identified himself at the scene, showed his identity card and made it clear that he was deployed for the K-P chief minister’s security. “Despite this, he was subjected to severe suspicion,” the press release said. The Gujranwala police said Ali was subjected to violence in the presence of the SHO of City Wazirabad. It added that his presence could be clearly seen in photographs taken at the scene. “After the incident, facts are being distorted by portraying Constable Ali as a killer,” the police said, adding that his identity had already been established at the scene and that he had also presented his identity card. Read: K-P CM prepares to tour 13 Punjab cities The Gujranwala police said it could not accept as correct any “baseless and factually contrary” social media post against its personnel. “Distorting the facts and declaring a police officer deployed on duty a killer is condemnable,” the press release added. پریس ریلیز ۔ ۔ ۔ گوجرانوالہ پولیس سکیورٹی ڈیوٹی پر مامور گوجرانوالہ پولیس کانسٹیبل مقدس علی پر تشدد، حقائق کو مسخ کرکے قاتل قرار دینا قابلِ تشویش pic.twitter.com/v9TZranae7 — CPO Gujranwala (@cpogujranwala) September 16, 2026   Afridi leads rally amid tight security Afridi is currently on a tour of Lahore as part of preparations for the September 27 long march. A day earlier, he led the second day of his Lahore street movement amid heavy deployment of Punjab Police. Addressing the media and rally participants, Afridi said the party would disclose its detailed plan for the September 27 protest a week before the event. The K-P CM called on people to come out for their rights, claiming that even a force of 100,000 police or military personnel could not stop what he described as the mobilisation of four million people. Afridi took to the streets from Shah Jamal after visiting the family of Ghulam Mohiuddin Dewan, a former member of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly who is currently under arrest. The rally, accompanied by a large number of party workers and supporters, travelled along Ferozepur Road, Mozang Chungi, Lytton Road and Jain Mandir before reaching Hall Road. Read more: Shafi Jan alleges bid to abduct CM A heavy police deployment was witnessed along the route of the rally. According to PTI, police forcibly closed shops and markets along the route and blocked roads and streets on both sides, restricting the movement of PTI workers, supporters and members of the public. The party also claimed that several PTI workers were arrested and that police conducted raids at the residences of party workers and leaders. The PTI also alleged that police confined shopkeepers and citizens inside plazas at various locations to prevent them from joining the rally. It claimed that police officials in uniform and plain clothes attempted to arrest workers at several points, while members of the K-P chief minister's official squad intervened and secured their release. Speaking to the media during the rally, Afridi alleged that Punjab Police had abducted him the previous night and accused the provincial government of creating hurdles for his political activities. "They attempted to abduct me," Afridi said, adding that he had been taken around Lahore's roads for about 15 minutes before being left on the roadside. He said the Punjab government should be ashamed and warned that if anything happened to him in Punjab, the provincial government and Punjab Police would be responsible.