PESHAWAR: Just a couple of days after he went incommunicado while a crackdown against PTI lawmakers was underway in Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Min­ister Ali Amin Gandapur struck a defiant note and came out all guns blazing against the powers that be.

Addressing a gathering of lawyers, representatives of bar councils, ministers and parliamentarians at KP House on Wednesday, the CM sounded bitter, but refrained from directly naming the military establishment. However, nearly all his remarks seemed to be aimed at ‘them’.

This was his first public appearance after hours of disappearance and subsequent statements by circles close to him that he had been invited for a meeting by “state institutions”.

In his nearly 25-min speech, he railed against the powers that be, focusing on what he referred to as the rule of repression on the basis of one’s personal hatred and stubbornness. He said he would continue to raise his voice and would never compromise on his principles. “If you like it, very good. If you don’t like it, very, very good,” he said.

Expressing his indignation over being falsely nominated in FIRs over Sunday’s public meeting in Sangjani, he said that when he raised his voice, he was told that he was too loud and too harsh.

“Shouldn’t I speak up? Am I your servant? Am I your tenant?”, the KP CM asked, rhetorically.

He also called on ‘them’ to sit down with “illegally incarcerated” Imran Khan and find a solution to extricate the country from the prevailing crisis.

CM Gandapur also expressed a resolve to take the bull of militancy, prevailing in his province, by the horns, announcing his intention to send a delegation to Kabul to speak to the Afghan Taliban and seek their help in bringing peace to KP.

“Keep your policies with you,” the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said, alluding to the military establishment.

“As a leader of the province, I will personally speak to Afghanistan. I will send a delegation to Afghanistan. I will speak to them and through negotiations, I will resolve this issue and save lives,” he told a gathering of lawyers, representatives of bar councils, ministers and parliamentarians at KP House.

He said that he had raised the issue of militancy and police and people losing faith. “But they couldn’t care less,” he said.

“I asked them for permission to speak to Afghanistan. It is our neighbour. We speak the same language and have a 1,200 km long border with them. Because our blood is being shed. Is our blood thinner than water? How long can I tolerate this?” he asked.

‘Security-related discussion’

Separately, in an appearance on Geo News on Wednesday night, KP government spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif addressed the situation regarding CM Gandapur’s supposed ‘disappearance’ on Monday night, Dawn.com reported.

When several key PTI leaders were whisked away by law enforcement agencies from various parts of Islamabad, including Parliament House, Barrister Saif had said that all attempts to reach the CM had proven unfruitful as his phones were unreachable. At the time, he had claimed that CM Gandapur had been summoned to Islamabad for a meeting.

“Our team had managed to get in touch with the chief minister in the late hours of Monday night,” Barrister Saif said during the TV appearance on Wednesday night.

“CM Gandapur had met officials from the establishment and there was a discussion about the security and general political situation in KP. There were a lot of jammers and we could not reach him. When he left [Islamabad] and switched his phone on, we talked and figured out he was fine,” he added.

Asked about Gandapur’s meeting, Barrister Saif reiterated that it was a “general, security-related discussion about the province and the country, not a fight”.

“I won’t say that the meeting was bitter, in any meeting between parties and the establishment, there are things said that the establishment will not like,” he said. “He (Gandapur) said he had a general discussion about KP and the country… talked about the political situation in the province.”

Barrister Saif clarified that the establishment reached out to the CM for a meeting, adding: “Naturally, these security-related meetings are part of Mr Gandapur’s responsibility.”

Barrister Saif added that party founder Imran Khan would not have any further political discussions with the establishment.

“They are not ready to change their policies or stance… there is no benefit in talking to them… any interactions with the establishment will not benefit us in this political climate,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2024