Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has reached Peshawar from Islamabad, confirmed PTI members on Tuesday. His return was after hours of mystery, during which party leaders lost contact with him following the raids by law enforcement on PTI’s top leadership.
Disappearance of CM Gandapur amidst raids
He was earlier said to be shifted to Islamabad’s KP House after attending PTI’s power show in Sangjani on Sunday. It was unclear where the minister had been shifted to since his speech at the rally drew strong criticism from the ruling party PML-N and media. PTI’s counsel Naeem Haider Panjutha said that for more than six hours, Gandapur remained unreachable which he claimed was later “released” and shifted to KP House in Islamabad before leaving for Peshawar.
Crackdown on PTI Leadership by Law Enforcement
On Monday morning, police raided and arrested key members of PTI leadership, including Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, Zubair Khan, and Advocate Shoaib Shaheen. Gohar and Marwat were arrested outside Parliament House, while Shaheen was detained at his office in G-9; other staff members tried to resist the arrest.
AT least 12 party leaders, including Chief Whip Amir Dogar and Sunni Ittehad Council chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, have been detained according to the media cell of PTI. PTI leaders Zain Qureshi, Zartaj Gul, Omer Ayub, Sheikh Waqas Akram and Seemabia Tahir are currently wanted by the police and have taken shelter in Parliament House.
Police Trying to Round Up PTI Leaders
The police have intensified efforts to arrest PTI leaders who took part in the rally at Sangjani. This was after the registration of several cases where law enforcement agencies began monitoring residences and offices of PTI leaders to conclude the operation by Tuesday morning. Relevant surveillance points across Islamabad were put in place for an attempt by the PTI activists at evasion.
PTI Condemns Arrests as Attack on Democracy
PTI has condemned the arrests, terming the action of the law enforcement agencies an attack on democracy. In a statement on X, the party lashed out at the government for “illegally arresting PTI leaders and elected members of parliament.” PTI further linked the crackdown to their Sangjani power show to which a sea of supporters attended.