CM Gandapur claims PTI ‘dharna still on’, says only Imran Khan has authority to call it off
Gandapur claims a failed assassination attempt was made.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) protest is still on and that only party founder Imran Khan has the authority to call it off.
In a press conference in Mansehra on Wednesday, Gandapur alleged that the party has been subjected to severe oppression, with baseless cases being registered against its members.
“Our party has faced coercion. Our leader [Imran Khan] is in jail, and even his wife [Bushra Bibi] was imprisoned,” he said. He reiterated that PTI is a peaceful party and has consistently advocated for the supremacy of the Constitution.
In the early hours of Wednesday, the Imran Khan-founded party announced a “temporary suspension” of its “do-or-die” protest following a midnight crackdown by the law enforcers, which effectively dispersed the PTI workers.
In response, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar slammed the PTI, saying: “Such a colossal failure has become their fate. This was not the final call, but merely a missed call.”
Tarar said that the KP CM’s name should be “Ali Amin Bhagoora (deserter) instead of Ali Amin Gandapur”.
Meanwhile, the party says that eight of its members were killed in the stand-off with the law enforcers, while government officials say that three Rangers personnel were martyred along with two other police personnel.
Expressing concerns about the abrupt end of the Islamabad protest, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai said that the party leadership had “disappointed” him.
While speaking on Geo News’ programme ‘Geo Pakistan’, Yousafzai said that the party leadership had failed to provide clear guidance during the protest, which lasted for three days after beginning on November 24.
