• CM alleges he, Bushra were followed, shot at by law enforcers en route to KP after Islamabad crackdown
• PTI claims 12 deaths ‘confirmed’, govt hiding number of casualties from D-Chowk protest; families being made to sign affidavits before being handed over bodies

PESHAWAR: Warning the federal government against imposition of Governor’s Rule in the province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Thursday the rulers should fear the wrath of the province.

“Fear the day when we retaliate. We have arms and ammunition and we can take up arms [too],” he said in his speech before the KP Assembly on Friday night.

A charged CM Gandapur told the rulers to “not even think about imposing Governor’s Rule, otherwise you will not be able to stay in this province”.

“The entire nation and the entire world saw a huge crowd which faced up to fascism,” he said, adding that the decision-makers were not listening to the voice of the people and were taking the country on the same direction that had led to its break-up.

Mr Gandapur said “we will sit in peace only when our objectives are achieved”.

Detailing what he called multiple attempts as he tried to make his way back to KP after the crackdown on PTI’s ‘final call’ march, he alleged that Rangers entered the province illegally.

“They wanted to kill or kidnap me and Bushra Bibi,” he claimed, adding that he was targeted at three different places, but mused that the security cameras at those points would be dysfunctional when it came to evidence collection.

He also claimed that both he and the former first lady were targeted by small-arms fire and snipers near Kulsoom Hospital, on Islamabad’s Jinnah Avenue.

CM Gandapur claimed that the government had continued the tradition set by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto when he imposed Article 245 in 1977 and had armed forces open fire on civilians in Lahore’s Anarkali, or when the PML-N ordered police to fire on Pakistan Awami Tehreek protesters in Model Town.

Govt accused of ‘hiding casualties’

Earlier, in a separate press conference, PTI leaders alleged that the federal government was hiding the exact number of casualties at D-Chowk, claiming that the party started collecting data that confirmed the deaths of at least 12 PTI protesters.

PTI leaders Sheikh Waqas Akram and Omar Ayub claimed that hundreds of their workers, many among them wounded, were still missing.

So far, the deaths of 12 PTI workers — seven from KP, two from Balochistan, and one each from Azad Kashmir, Punjab and Islamabad — have been reported, he claimed, apprehending that the number of fatalities and injured PTI workers might increase as they had just started compiling data.

He alleged: “The authorities are handing over bodies to the relatives on the condition of taking affidavit that they will declare the cause of death through some other accident and not by bullets.”

He claimed that the Pims administration denied the presence of the body of PTI worker Sardar Shafiq, whose body was handed over by a hospital in Rawalpindi two days later, declaring a ‘road accident’ as the cause of his death.

The PTI leader said Mubeen Malik and Abdul Qadir from Abbottabad, Mohammad Ilyas and Imran Abbasi from Islamabad, Anees Sathi from Kotli Sathian, Tariq Khan from Shangla, Malik Safdar Ali from Mardan, Mohammad Ali and Taj Wali from Charsadda, Sardar Shafiq Khan from Dera Ghazi Khan, Abdul Shakoor from Qilla Saifullah and Ahmad Wali from Pashin were among the deceased protesters.

He said that the federal government was still denying firing at D-Chowk despite the confirmation of 12 fatalities, though their funerals could not be concealed.

The NA opposition leader demanded that Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi conduct a judicial inquiry into what he called the “Islamabad massacre” and award exemplary punishment to those involved in the “killing of innocent civilians”.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2024