Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said on Sunday that Sohail Afridi and Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati have been placed under house arrest and are “in safe hands”, urging that there is “no need to worry” about their safety.
Afridi, who is no longer functioning as KP chief minister, has not been seen in public since the federal government imposed governor’s rule and an emergency in the province on Oct 11. The governor, who now administers the province, spoke in a televised interview on Sunday night and confirmed both men’s status after days of public uncertainty.
Whereabouts and court petitions
On the day the emergency began, Afridi’s location was not publicly known. The following day, a federal minister said he and some cabinet colleagues were in preventative custody. With little else confirmed officially since then, Afridi’s brother and a cousin of Speaker Swati have filed separate petitions in the Peshawar High Court seeking the men’s recovery.
Kundi said that if cases exist against Afridi, action would follow and he would be indicted; if there are no cases, he would be released. Asked why Afridi was still held if no cases were pending, the governor said he could give an update the next day. He added that Swati is also under house arrest and would likewise be freed if there are no charges against him.
Arrests, emergency and security
On the speaker’s record, Kundi accused the PTI member of “illegal and unconstitutional” acts while serving as KP Assembly Speaker. Asked how many people were self-arrested versus genuinely arrested, he said he lacked exact figures but estimated that about 40 or 50 per cent were under “self-imposed arrest or self-concealment”.
He described the emergency and governor’s rule as the “absolute last option”. On how long the emergency might last, he said authorities would review the situation after six months, then added, as a personal opinion that he said could be wrong, that it “maybe … will run longer”. He linked that view to the need for the Centre and province to be “on the same page” against terrorism and to streamline that effort, which he said would take time.
Afghan policy remarks
Kundi also separated state policy from comments attributed to Malik Khan Marjan, a member of the newly formed Area Representative and Development Council (ARDC) for 12 KP districts, who had favoured dialogue with the Afghan Taliban. The governor said Pakistan’s policy for now is clear: no talks with Afghanistan. He condemned terrorism against Pakistan from Afghan soil, criticised Kabul for what he said was allowing India to use its territory against Pakistan while seeking dialogue, and said the army “knows how to fix” such terrorism. Marjan’s view, he said, was personal and not government policy.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Oct 11: The Centre imposes governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Afridi’s whereabouts remain publicly unknown that day.
- Oct 12: A federal minister confirms Afridi and some cabinet members are in preventative custody.
- After Oct 12: Afridi’s brother and Swati’s cousin approach the Peshawar High Court separately seeking their relatives’ recovery.
- Sunday: Governor Kundi says Afridi and Swati are under house arrest and “in safe hands”, and that release depends on whether cases exist.
Aasan alfaaz mein
KP ke governor ne kaha hai ke Sohail Afridi aur Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati house arrest par hain aur un ki hifazat theek hai. Agar un par koi case nahi hua to unhein chhora ja sakta hai; agar cases hain to qanooni iqdam ho sakta hai. Un ke ghar walon ne Peshawar High Court mein un ki baz-yabi ke liye darkhwastain di hain. Province ab governor ke neeche chal raha hai, aur emergency kab tak rahegi, yeh baad mein clear hoga.
