Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has confirmed that Sohail Afridi and provincial Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati are under house arrest. The Afridi house arrest confirmation came on Sunday night, when Kundi appeared on Geo News programme Jirga and said both men were “in safe hands”.
Afridi stopped functioning as the KP chief minister after the Centre imposed governor’s rule and an emergency in the province on October 11. He has not been seen in public since that day. A federal minister confirmed the next day that Afridi and some of his cabinet members were in preventative custody, but no further official detail followed.
That silence led to court action. Afridi’s brother and Swati’s cousin have approached the Peshawar High Court separately to seek the recovery of their relatives. Our earlier report on Afridi’s brother moving the court sets out that petition, and our report on bail for PTI activists held under the maintenance of public order law shows how the courts have handled related detention cases.
What Kundi said about the Afridi house arrest
Kundi told the programme that Afridi had been placed under house arrest and was safe. He said that if cases existed against Afridi, action would follow and he would face indictment. If no cases existed, he said, Afridi would be released.
When asked why Afridi was not being released if no cases existed against him, Kundi replied that he could give an update on the matter the next day. He gave the same position on Swati, saying the speaker was also under house arrest and would be freed if no charges stood against him.
Kundi also criticised Swati’s conduct as speaker, accusing the PTI member of acts he described as illegal and unconstitutional in that role. He did not give details of any specific case against either man.
Emergency could run past six months, Kundi says
Kundi defended the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in KP, calling it the “absolute last option”. He then raised the question of how long the emergency might last, and his answer went beyond the usual six-month frame.
He said the position would be reviewed once six months were complete. He added that, in his personal opinion, it might run longer, while stressing that he could be wrong. His reasoning was that the Centre and the province needed to be on the same page in the fight against terrorism, and that plans to streamline that effort would take time.
That remark matters because it signals that the current arrangement in KP may not be a short bridge back to normal government. It also sets up a fresh point of dispute with the PTI, which has challenged the emergency in court and in parliament. The Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan alliance has already condemned the governor’s rule as unconstitutional, as covered in our report on the TTAP condemnation.
Kundi’s latest remarks follow his recent call for cooperation between the Centre and the province, covered in our report on Kundi saying KP cannot function without the Centre. The tone on Sunday night was firmer, with the governor now speaking as the man running the province rather than as a mediator.
No talks with Afghanistan, Kundi insists
Kundi also used the interview to distance himself and state policy from remarks by Malik Khan Marjan, a member of the newly formed Area Representative and Development Council for 12 districts of KP. Marjan had favoured dialogue with the Afghan Taliban, according to the report put to Kundi.
Kundi said he would check the remarks, but he added that policy was clear. He said there would be no talks with Afghanistan for now. He condemned terrorism carried out against Pakistan from Afghan soil, and he criticised Kabul for allowing India to use its soil against Pakistan while also asking for dialogue.
He added that Pakistan’s army knew how to respond to terrorism from across the border, and that there was no dialogue and no talks of any kind about it. He described Marjan’s view as a personal opinion, not policy.
What happens next
The first test comes on Monday, when Kundi has promised an update on Afridi’s position. That update will show whether the house arrest ends, continues, or turns into formal charges.
