The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party reported that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had safely arrived in Peshawar from Islamabad. This update follows a tense situation where some PTI members had expressed concerns about his whereabouts and alleged abduction by authorities.
The news of Gandapur’s return was confirmed by PTI lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha, who took to social media platform X to reassure supporters. Panjutha stated that Gandapur was back at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad and was in good health. He thanked those who had voiced concerns and advocated for Gandapur’s release, stating that the Chief Minister was expected to leave for Peshawar shortly.
Earlier on Monday, Panjutha had raised alarms about Gandapur’s sudden disappearance. According to the lawyer, the Chief Minister had been unaccounted for since 7 PM the previous evening. Panjutha accused Islamabad police and intelligence agencies of kidnapping Gandapur and announced that the Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) would file a petition in the Islamabad High Court for his recovery.
The situation was further complicated by reports from PTI MPA Meena Khan Afridi, who claimed that Gandapur was unreachable for six to seven hours. She noted that not only the party leadership but also members of the KPK cabinet and Gandapur’s family were unable to contact him during this period.
The controversy surrounding Gandapur’s disappearance occurred against the backdrop of a broader crackdown on PTI leaders and activists. Following a major rally held in Islamabad to demand the release of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, police detained several PTI lawmakers and leaders. The police reported that four individuals were taken into custody, while PTI claimed that 13 members had been arrested from various locations in Islamabad, including outside the parliament building.
Among those detained were PTI leaders Sher Afzal Marwat, Shoaib Shaheen, and party Chairman Gohar Ali Khan. The police action was seen as part of a larger effort to suppress PTI’s vocal opposition and protests.
The crackdown followed a rally on the outskirts of Islamabad that turned violent. According to the PTI, clashes erupted when police deployed tear gas to disperse a peaceful assembly, leading to injuries, including that of a senior police official. PTI representatives argued that the police’s actions were unprovoked and escalated the situation unnecessarily.
In the aftermath of the rally, Opposition Leader Omar Ayub condemned the arrests of Gohar Ali Khan and Sher Afzal Marwat, describing their detention as “despicable.” In a letter to National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Ayub criticized the timing and location of the arrests, which he said were conducted just outside the parliament.
Zulfikar Bukhari, another PTI leader, denounced the detentions as illegal, asserting that the government’s reaction to the protest had been excessive. “Yesterday’s massive protest has sent shivers down the government’s spine,” Bukhari stated, implying that the administration was unnerved by the scale and intensity of the PTI demonstration.
In a dramatic statement on the floor of Parliament, PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan likened the events of Monday night to the infamous incidents of May 9, describing it as a dark day for Pakistan’s democracy. Khan’s remarks underscore the gravity with which PTI views the ongoing political tensions and the impact of recent events on the party’s leadership and its supporters.
The unfolding situation reflects deepening political unrest in Pakistan, with PTI and the government engaged in a high-stakes confrontation. The return of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to Peshawar marks a temporary resolution to one aspect of the conflict, but it is evident that the broader political struggles and allegations of government overreach will continue to shape the political landscape in the coming days.
