CHARSADDA/MALAKAND: Unidentified masked armed men ‘abducted’ Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Public Health Engineering Fazal Shakoor Khan at gunpoint near the exit of Peshawar Motorway in broad daylight on Monday afternoon, alleged his staff.

The minister, according to his staff and leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, was on his way to provincial capital when unidentified masked men intercepted his car and shifted him to an undisclosed location.

Alam Khan, the personal secretary to minister, said that Mr Khan was going to Peshawar to attend a meeting when armed men in police uniforms rounded him up at the exit of Peshawar Motorway in the limits of Chamkani police station.

A video shared on social media platforms showed several masked armed men approaching the minister’s car. In the video, one of the masked men grabs the door of the car to open it while another is seen firing shots at the tyres of moving vehicle.

CTD lodges FIR against another minister for firing at intelligence official

In a statement posted on X, Provincial Minister for Information Shafi Jan said that abduction of Minister Fazal Shakoor Khan from Peshawar by unidentified individuals was a direct attack on the Constitution, law, democracy and public mandate.

“We will not be intimidated by such tactics. Snatching away the right to peaceful political struggle is the height of fascism, but we will continue to fight for our rights while remaining within the bounds of the Constitution and law,” he said.

A senior leader of PTI told Dawn that they were clueless about the abducted minister. He said that police, chief secretary and administration were supporting the ‘other side’ and not the provincial government.

This was second such incident involving a sitting provincial minister after registration of FIR against Minister for Communication and Works Shakil Khan for opening fire on intelligence agency personnel on Sunday.

On Monday, an FIR was registered against Mr Shakil and his gunmen under Anti-Terrorism Act at CTD Bajaur, Malakand region police station.

CTD police raided Shakil Khan’s house but he managed to escape along with his gunmen.

According to the FIR, a security agency official Naik Bilal, who was injured in the firing in Batkhela on Sunday, told police at hospital that he was on routine duty along with a senior officer in a motorcar near Sabar Shah Batkhela when a Vigo vehicle stopped in front of his car.

He said that Minister Shakil Khan, Arshad Khan, Iqbal Khan and an accused whose name and address was unknown got out of the vehicle and started firing at him with the intention of spreading terror and fear. “I was injured in the back by Shakil Khan, while my other companions miraculously escaped,” he said.

CTD police station has registered a case against the minister under sections 7ATA/34/427/324 of PPC. Raids were conducted to arrest the minister but he managed to escape.

On the other hand, a two-page request from the minister in the name of Malakand deputy commissioner/commandant of Levies Force and other officers has gone viral on social media.

The minister has requested the commandant of Levies that he has been receiving threats of murder and kidnapping for the past several days.

He said that on Sunday, he went to Batkhela for offering fateha when some people in a suspicious motorcar started firing at him. He said that his gunmen returned the fire in self-defence, after which the attackers fled.

He claimed that the attackers wanted to kidnap him.

PTI workers protested in front of Malakand Press Club and demanded that a thorough investigation should be conducted into the incident that took place in Batkhela.

Led by PTI district president Abbas Khan and general secretary Pir Islam Ghazi, they alleged that the minister was attacked and an FIR was also registered against him.

PTI workers also staged a protest at Farooq Azam Chowk in Charsadda on Monday against the alleged arrest of Minister Fazal Shakoor Khan and demanded his immediate release.

They alleged that the minister was taken into custody at gunpoint. They described the action as a failure of federal government.

The protest was addressed by PTI former district president Aziz Khan, Gul Nawaz and other leaders.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2026