By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Tuesday that the security detail provided to him by the provincial government had been withdrawn late the previous night, a move the chief minister’s office denied ordering.
Gandapur said the deputy chief security officer to incumbent Chief Minister Sohail Afridi contacted his security personnel around 11 pm on Monday with instructions to withdraw the escort. “I had one jammer and one double-cabin vehicle provided by the provincial government,” he said. “There were 14 personnel deployed with that vehicle.” “When these personnel informed me, I told them to pack up everything. This is the actual truth,” Gandapur added.
He said he would not accept the security even if it was restored. “I want to tell the chief minister that there is no need to return this security to me now. I do not need it.” A 16-member police squad assigned to Gandapur was recalled late on Monday, offcials said. The contingent included two jammer operators, eight gunmen and six drivers working in shifts. Fourteen of the personnel were assigned to Gandapur and two to his brother, Member of the National Assembly Faisal Amin Gandapur.
Sources close to the former chief minister said one jammer and one pickup carrier had been returned to the provincial government. They said Gandapur and his brother had personally spoken with the officer who conveyed the orders to confirm and authenticate them. Gandapur’s spokesperson Faraz Ahmed Mughal said the withdrawal was carried out on instructions from Chief Minister Afridi, with the Chief Minister’s Office contacting the security in-charge directly. Gandapur had followed the directive within minutes, he added.
The chief minister’s press secretary rejected reports that the security detail had been withdrawn. “No such decision has been taken, nor have any instructions been issued to the relevant authorities in this regard,” the press secretary said in a statement. An official at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat said Gandapur had been asked to return two jammers and the associated personnel, which were required for the incumbent chief minister. “Under the rules, the former chief minister was not entitled to retain the jammers. He was supposed to return the jammers and vehicle,” the official said, adding that no security detail had been withdrawn. “He continues to retain police escort.” While the Peshawar-based contingent was affected, Gandapur still has a police detail from his native Dera Ismail Khan district, the official noted.
Gandapur, a prominent leader of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, had previously faced multiple security threats, including a hand grenade attack at his residence. Official sources said decisions on security deployment and withdrawal were taken according to threat assessments and administrative requirements. Political observers described the development as significant amid reported differences between Gandapur and Chief Minister Afridi.
Gandapur resigned as chief minister on Oct. 8 last year in compliance with directives from PTI founder Imran Khan, hours after the party announced Afridi’s nomination for the post. He wrote on X at the time that it was “in respectful compliance of the orders of my leader”. Afridi was elected chief minister on Oct. 13 and took the oath on Oct. 15. At the time, some PTI figures linked Gandapur’s resignation to difficulties in securing Imran Khan’s release from jail.
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