New Delhi: The Pakistan Army was deployed on the streets of Islamabad and Lahore Friday and Saturday, while conflicting reports have emerged of the arrest of a sitting chief minister of a province following the call by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan urging his supporters to hit the streets in protest.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)–the party founded by Khan–claimed Saturday that its leader and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur was detained by the Pakistani Rangers in Islamabad, after leading a caravan of party supporters to the federal capital.
However, hours later a party spokesperson retracted the statement, claiming that Gandapur, who headed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa house after reaching Islamabad, was not “formally arrested” but rather surrounded by authorities.
“The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa @AliAminKhanPTI has not been formally arrested, a heavy contingent of Rangers and police are present at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House. The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is on bail till October 25,” said Muhammad Ali Saif, an advisor to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, in a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
Saif added: “If arrested, it will be an insult to the mandate of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the fake government will have to respond to such unconstitutional and illegal actions.”
Gandapur, the Chief Minister from PTI’s stronghold in KPK, was leading a caravan protesters to Islamabad, after Imran Khan earlier last week called for protesters to march on towards D-Chowk in the capital to protest for the “independence of the judiciary”.
The protests called by the PTI come as Pakistan is getting ready to welcome the heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to Islamabad on 15 and 16 October.
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be leading India’s delegation to Islamabad. The Pakistan government has accused the PTI of attempting to sabotage the SCO meet with its protests.
In a fiery message posted on ‘X’ Monday, Khan said, “A desperate effort is being made to subjugate the judiciary. Judges from the High Courts are writing letters to the Supreme Court but Qazi is destroying his own institution, in line with the London Plan.”
“We will protest in Mianwali, Faisalabad, and Bahawalpur on October 2nd for the independence of judiciary and for democracy. We will also hold a protest at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on October 5th. As for Islamabad, I have sent a message to Ali Amin Gandapur to call for a protest at D-Chowk on October 4th,” he added.
On Friday, the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were heavily fortified by the Pakistani authorities, with nearly 600 containers and 6,000 personnel brought in to counter PTI’s protest, according to the Pakistani newspaper, Dawn.
According to local media reports, over 100 PTI workers were detained during the Friday protests, which turned violent with instances of stone pelting and the exchange of tear-gas witnessed during the march to D-Chowk. Khan’s sisters Aleema and Uzma were also detained.
In an effort to stop the convoy led by Gandapur to reach Islamabad from Peshawar, authorities even dug trenches on the high-way and placed iron nails.
Khan, who celebrated his second birthday Saturday in the Adiala jail, was detained in August 2023 for failing to declare the sale of state gifts in the Toshakhana case. In 2022, Khan was removed from power after a vote of no confidence was passed in the Pakistan National Assembly.
Khan accuses the US for toppling his regime. On 9 May last year, Khan was first detained by authorities, which led to his supporters protesting on the streets, which turned violent and witnessed attacks on Pakistani military properties.
The army headquarters in Rawalpindi was also attacked, in what is considered to be the first such attack on the nation’s military in its history. While Khan was subsequently released, he returned to prison in August 2023, while the state filed a number of cases against him. He was convicted in a few, while his wife Bushra Bibi was also arrested and convicted for having an illegal marriage with Khan.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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