PTI gives 24-hour ultimatum for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM's release, warns of nationwide protests
Oct 06, 2024
Peshawar [Pakistan], October 7 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Asad Qaiser warned the government of nationwide protests if Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur is not released within 24 hours, ARY News reported on Sunday.
According to ARY News, KP CM Gandapur reportedly went missing while en route to participate in a protest in Islamabad. The senior leaders of PTI claimed that Gandapur has been detained, however, the government has rubbished the allegations stating that the KP CM is not in any official custody.
Speaking at the KP Assembly, Asad Qaiser expressed outrage over Gandapur's alleged detention, labelling it a historically 'unprecedented' move. He also condemned the destructive vandalism at Islamabad's KP House and stressed Gandapur's swift release, along with the freedom of over 1,000 detained PTI workers, the ARY News reported.
Further, he criticised the government's alleged attempts to silence the opposition, warning that PTI would boycott meetings in the National Assembly, Senate, and standing committees if 'controversial' constitutional amendments were introduced.
Referring to the 'detention', Qaiser questioned why there is no similar treatment for Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, drawing a comparison with Gandapur's situation, the ARY News reported
The session on Sunday started after a delay of five hours, with KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati in the chair.
On Sunday, around 300 PTI supporters reached the KP Assembly to mark their protests demanding Gandapur's release. Some of them protested outside the building, while others chanted slogans from the public gallery, Dawn reported.
Speaker Swati began the session by requesting that PTI workers in the gallery to refrain from sloganeering and hooting, given the context of the meeting.
