Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in a letter on Tuesday drew the attention of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to the alleged ill-treatment of KP PTI workers following their protest in Islamabad in November. Paid
The allegations include “round-up and lodging of baseless FIRs”. As a result of the “do or die” protests.
The chief minister’s move comes more than a week after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf formally called off its much-maligned protest in Islamabad on November 27.
The former ruling party’s highly publicized protest in Islamabad, which began on November 24, aimed at securing the release of PTI founder Imran Khan, who has been behind bars for more than a year, protestors. But the government’s midnight crackdown led to a hasty retreat by the PTI.
The party founded by Imran Khan has since claimed that at least 12 of its workers have been killed and 1,000 others arrested. However, the government has categorically denied using live ammunition against the protesters and said that four law enforcement personnel, including three Rangers personnel and two police personnel, were martyred during the protests.
In the letter, which was made public earlier today, the Chief Minister expressed his concerns highlighting the unnecessary Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) cases against the poor residents of the province.
“I hope this message will please you. I would like to bring to your attention a matter of concern regarding the treatment of Pashtun laborers in Islamabad, particularly the arbitrary round-ups and baseless attacks against them. Regarding filing of TAFIR,” the chief minister wrote in a letter.
The chief minister added, “These persons, who are mainly engaged in low-paid jobs, have been unfairly targeted as a result of the recent incidents involving peaceful political protests organized by the PTI.
He recalled that in October this year, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had to go to Peshawar and seek the help of a Jirga of a political party in the province to defuse the tension after an untoward incident of ‘Pashtun Adalat Jirga’. .
“The situation was resolved through collective efforts, transcending political lines,” he added.
In a federation like Pakistan, Gandapur said, it is important that political issues are resolved through peaceful and constructive dialogue rather than through a “majoritarian lens”.
He urged the Prime Minister to review the situation and “take immediate action to quash bogus FIRs and release those who have been unjustly detained”.
Since the protests called by the PTI founder in early November, the current government led by the Muslim League (N) has moved to prevent protesters from reaching and entering the federal capital.
Apart from deploying a large number of riot police personnel, the administration blocked several roads within the federal capital and various routes leading to the city with shipping containers.
However, despite these measures, convoys of PTI associates managed to enter Islamabad and reach D Chowk in the Red Zone, where sensitive government buildings including the Parliament are located.
The whole story of “final call” ended with the protestors hastily returning from the federal capital after the government crackdown on the protestors.