By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces stormed the Islamabad offices of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government on Saturday, sparking conflicting reports over the status of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, with his party claiming he was taken into custody while officials insisted he remained free.
Police and paramilitary Rangers raided the KPK house in Islamabad after authorities accused Gandapur of leading a violent protest to the capital and warned him not to “cross any more red lines”.
Conflicting reports emerged over his arrest, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party claiming he was taken into custody, while local media cited official sources denying the arrest.
“Rangers have forcefully entered KP House and launched an aggressive attack in an attempt to arrest CM KPK Ali Amin Gandapur,” the PTI said in a social media post. “This blatant abuse of power is deeply shameful, raising serious concerns about the state of lawlessness in Pakistan.”
Omar Ayub Khan, opposition leader in the lower house, termed the “abduction” of Gandapur “blatant terrorism” and accused Islamabad Police and the paramilitary Rangers of violating court orders.
“Release CM KP Ali Amin Khan Gandapur immediately,” Khan said on his social media account. “All fingers are pointing at the establishment and intelligence agencies (the Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, and Financial Investigation Unit).”
However, PTI leaders and officials later retracted claims about Gandapur’s arrest, stating that Rangers personnel were still present at the KP House.
“The KP CM has not been formally arrested, a heavy contingent of Rangers and police are present at the KP House,” KP government spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Saif said in a statement on X platform.
“The KP CM is on bail till October 25. If arrested, it will be an insult to the mandate of the people of KP, the fake government will have to answer for such unconstitutional and illegal actions.”
Nawaz Mehmood, the party’s KP’s deputy general secretary, said Gandapur was detained inside KP House. Another PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari alleged Gandapur, a close aide of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was “held hostage” to halt protests.
State-run Pakistan Television issued a statement which said that “sources are saying that the news of the arrest of Ali Amin Gandapur is wrong.”
Gandapur arrived in the capital city earlier today, following party founder Khan’s renewed call for protests. Khan urged supporters to converge on D-Chowk in Islamabad and Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore for the planned rally.
“You showed unfaltering resilience and courage as you came out yesterday and overcame unbelievable obstacles,” the former premier said according to a post on his X account.
“I especially want to commend our people from KP, North Punjab and Islamabad,” he added, saying they “defeated insurmountable obstacles, including shelling, chemicals fired from helicopters, trenches and nails on the motorway”.
The post, quoting Khan, called on the people to move towards Minar-i-Pakistan, adding that if they were unable to make it to Lahore, they should join the protest in their cities. “This is a fight for our Haqeeqi Azadi (true freedom).”
Shortly before the raid on KP house, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused Chief Minister Gandapur of leading a “horde” to Islamabad.
“The responsibility for this protest definitely lies with the PTI leadership from where these instructions came,” Naqvi told reporters. “After that, if someone is practically implementing them, it is the CM Gandapur who is responsible. The CM KPK is responsible for the current situation since he is leading the horde that is marching on Islamabad.”
“We will not allow the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) conference to be sabotaged in any case. We have an idea what exactly is their motive and how they plan to do all this,” the minister said. “Police was fired upon in Pathar Garh, where we had set up a blockade and from where CM KPK has moved ahead now, and they were constantly tear-gassing the police.”
Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government summit in Islamabad under its rotating chairmanship of the organization on October 15 and 16.
Later, Naqvi vowed to take strict action against protesters following violent clashes with police.
“An assault was waged which was being led by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister himself and it is before you the way they (protesters) inflicted violence on the police, I don’t need to tell you,” Naqvi told a news conference, flanked by Islamabad’s and Punjab’s police chiefs.
Naqvi said police had evidence of live firing and announced the arrest of 564 individuals, including 120 Afghans and 11 KP police personnel.
He initiated a high-level inquiry into the involvement of a provincial police force in the protests.
“Who ordered this? I assure you that whoever has given the instructions and has used the police, we will take strict action against them,” Naqvi said, adding that a report would be submitted to the prime minister after the inquiry.
He confirmed that 31 Islamabad police and 75 Punjab police personnel were injured but had not opened fire on protesters.
“The strictest of action will be taken against whoever was involved in this episode, no matter if they’ve been arrested or not, no matter who they are,” Naqvi warned, specifically mentioning Chief Minister Gandapur.
Meanwhile, tensions remained high in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for a second day and violent clashes between protesters and police resulted in over 100 PTI members and supporters being arrested, with multiple instances of stone-pelting and tear gas exchanges reported.
Heavy rain and tear gas shelling failed to disperse hundreds of PTI protesters, who briefly occupied Islamabad’s restricted D-Chowk area. Police were forced to retreat after strong winds blew tear gas back towards them, but later returned after the rain subsided.
Major roads and entry points connecting the twin cities and Motorway and Grand Trunk Road remained blocked by containers, with mobile phone and metro bus services remained suspended, and schools and markets were closed for the second consecutive day.
The government has also deployed army troops in the capital to ensure security of the SCO summit. Television footage showed vehicles of Pakistan Army patrolling various areas of the federal capital on Saturday morning.
Khan’s PTI party has been holding protests across several cities against proposed constitutional amendments that it claims are aimed at curtailing the independence of the judiciary, a charge the government denies.
The party is also trying to mobilize supporters through protests and large public gatherings to put pressure for the release of Khan, who has been in prison since August last year and faces a slew of legal challenges.
The government maintained it was not the time for protests as state guests were visiting Islamabad, making it crucial to ensure their safety.
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