Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, raising concerns over the alleged “maltreatment of KP civilians,” including the rounding up of individuals and filing of baseless FIRs in Islamabad following the PTI’s recent protest.
The letter, which surfaced earlier today, comes more than a week after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) formally called off its “do-or-die” protest in Islamabad on November 27. The protest, launched on November 24, aimed at securing the release of PTI founder Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned for over a year.
Despite its initial momentum, the protest concluded abruptly after the government launched a midnight crackdown, dispersing demonstrators. PTI has since claimed that 12 of its workers were killed and 1,000 others arrested. However, government officials deny using live ammunition and assert that four law enforcers, including three Rangers personnel and two policemen, were martyred during the unrest.
In his letter, the KP chief minister highlighted his concerns about the unwarranted filing of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) cases against poor residents of the province, particularly Pashtun laborers.
“These individuals, primarily involved in low-paying jobs, have been unfairly targeted following the peaceful political protests organized by the PTI,” he wrote, urging the premier to review the situation and take immediate steps to quash the FIRs and release those unjustly detained.
Gandapur also recalled an earlier incident in October when Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Peshawar to seek assistance from a political party Jirga after tensions arose around the ‘Pashtun Adalat Jirga.’ He emphasized that the situation was resolved peacefully through collective efforts, transcending political divides.
He underscored the importance of addressing political matters through dialogue rather than a “majoritarian lens” and called on the federal government to prioritize peaceful resolutions.
The government had taken extensive measures to prevent the PTI protestors from entering the federal capital, deploying riot police and blocking roads with shipping containers. Despite these efforts, PTI convoys managed to reach D-Chowk in the Red Zone, where key government buildings, including the parliament, are situated.
