Pakistan police detain KP Chief Minister, 7 PTI leaders
Collected Photo
Pakistan police announced on Monday that they have placed at least eight leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) into custody, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
Official police sources confirmed that those in custody also include KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar. PTI leaders are labeling the action as “political victimisation”.
PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said these arrests aim to weaken the elected leadership of the province and dismantle democratic institutions.
In a post on X, Akram added, “The arrest of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Junaid Akbar has exposed the political nature of the federal government’s actions. These measures are not directed at addressing security challenges; they are intended to weaken PTI, undermine the elected government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and disregard the democratic will of its people.”
At the same time, Pakistani government confirmed that law enforcement detained several individuals who were “wanted” in various cases to maintain law and order.
Speaking on Geo News’ program “Geo Pakistan,” State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said, “The people who are not wanted in any case will be released,” though he refrained from clarifying whether authorities had detained Afridi.
During a news conference in Islamabad, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar explained, “Some of them have been taken into preventive custody […] those wanted in criminal cases will be dealt with accordingly, and the rest would be sent home.”
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi added, “If we arrest someone, we will declare it. We have nothing to hide.”
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan rejected the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule across KP, calling the decision a “grave political mistake”. The federal government decided to invoke emergency powers under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution of Pakistan following a cabinet meeting that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired on Sunday.
President Asif Ali Zardari formally endorsed the recommendations of the cabinet. The federal government cited a deteriorating security situation and alleged failures in the provincial administration’s counterterrorism efforts as the primary justification for the move.
These drastic actions follow mounting friction between the federal government and the PTI-led provincial government over counterterrorism coordination, provincial autonomy, and PTI’s ongoing long march toward Islamabad.
Rejecting governor’s rule and emergency measures in KP, PTI leader Asad Qaiser pledged that the party will sustain its constitutional and democratic struggle to defend the rights of the province.
The escalation follows PTI’s long march toward Islamabad, led by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, which commenced from Lakki Marwat on 4 October after talks between the government and opposition failed.
Discussions collapsed due to disagreements over counterterrorism strategy in KP and restrictions surrounding access to imprisoned PTI founder Imran Khan, including permission to meet his personal doctor.
Source: Geo News (adapted)
