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KP CM Sohail Afridi Says Corps Commander Visited Secretariat to ‘Congratulate’ Him
KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi says the Peshawar corps commander visited the CM Secretariat to “congratulate” him; meeting was unofficial, Afridi adds. He reiterates his government’s stance aligns with PTI and Imran Khan.
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by Muhammad Hashir
2025-10-28
KP CM Sohail Afridi Says Corps Commander Visited Secretariat to ‘Congratulate’ Him

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday told reporters outside the Supreme Court that the Peshawar corps commander had visited the CM Secretariat earlier to “congratulate” him and that their conversation was unofficial.

Asked what was discussed during the meeting, Afridi said the exchange was not an official briefing. “He came to congratulate me, and it was not an official [exchange]. The conversation was unofficial. And our stance is the same [everywhere], what we say inside is what we say outside,” the chief minister said.

Afridi noted that, as the chief executive of the province, he routinely receives visits from senior security and administrative officers. “Even the inspector general of police and the chief secretary have visited my office. Similarly, the corps commander will also come there, and the officers of all of our security institutions will also come. We will discuss matters pertaining to the province with them,” he added.

The chief minister also stressed that his government’s position would mirror that of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its jailed founder, Imran Khan. Imran, who has been in prison since 2023, has publicly accused former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa of orchestrating a conspiracy that led to his removal from office via a no-confidence vote in April 2022. The PTI and Imran’s family have repeatedly complained about alleged interference and obstacles to his prison meetings.

Tensions between political leadership and military institutions have remained a central feature of Pakistan’s recent political landscape. Several PTI supporters were subjected to military trials and convictions following violent protests on May 9, 2023, after Imran’s arrest; those incidents involved significant damage to civilian and military infrastructure.

Afridi’s remarks come amid ongoing debates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over how to engage with militant groups. The former KP chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, had previously diverged from the PTI line by defending the military’s use of heavy weaponry and airpower in anti-terror operations. Gandapur was removed earlier this month on Imran Khan’s instruction, with Afridi later elected as the province’s chief minister on October 13.

Separately, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has publicly reiterated the military’s stance against talks with banned militant outfits and emphasised the institution’s role in counter-terrorism operations. Speaking from Peshawar Corps Headquarters, the DG ISPR questioned calls for negotiations and warned that counter-terrorism activities would continue regardless of political distractions.

Afridi’s statement that the corps commander’s visit was a congratulatory and unofficial call aims to underline routine civil-military engagement while reaffirming the provincial government’s fidelity to PTI’s political line — a dynamic likely to remain under public and media scrutiny in the months ahead.
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