Overview
- Suhail Khan Afridi said a “freedom or death” message had come from jail and pressed supporters to prepare for a street movement, reiterating loyalty to the imprisoned PTI founder.
- Suhail Afridi accused Punjab police and assembly staff of rough treatment during his Lahore visit, while Punjab information minister Uzma Bukhari said the KP delegation was hosted and that inflammatory language was regrettable.
- At Benazir Bhutto’s 18th anniversary events in Sindh, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Rana Sanaullah reiterated the government’s readiness for talks and urged PTI to pursue negotiations in the assembly.
- Large security deployments were in place for the commemorations at Gaddhi Khuda Bakhsh, and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari urged PTI to abandon extremist politics and return to democratic norms.
- Law-and-order concerns persisted as Shikarpur police reported three deaths, including a groom, in a shooting on a wedding bus tied to an old enmity, and Islamabad Police said they rescued a 14-year-old abducted for ransom from Peshawar and arrested a suspect.