PML-N Senator Talal Chaudhry on Monday vowed legal action against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for leading party supporters who “attacked and pelted stones” at Islamabad police at last night’s rally.
Chungi No 26, on the outskirts of the capital, turned into a battleground on Sunday night as police clashed with PTI supporters after the latter allegedly refused to stick to the designated routes for the public gathering in Sangjani.
A dispute with the district administration over the agreed timeframe for the event also caused consternation among official circles.
Police claimed that PTI supporters ignored the traffic instructions and insisted on using the route set for the general public, which caused tensions to rise before PTI supporters started pelting police with stones.
In response, the police party retaliated and resorted to baton charge and tear gas shelling. Dozens of protesters were also arrested and bundled into prison vans, and were later taken to different police installations.
In a televised address today, Chaudhry said: “Once again, the Islamabad police was deliberately attacked by the people who had come to Islamabad under the leadership of the KP chief minister.
“Not only will those who attacked and pelted stones but also their mastermind will be arrested and sent to jail over this chaos,” he asserted.
Chaudhry said: “No one stopped them (PTI supporters). No policeman stood in their way. There was no obstruction [yet] they attacked the police on purpose in a botched attempt to hide their failed jalsa.
“Not only will the law take its course but in the coming days, I see his future from being the KP chief minister to going to the Adiala Jail,” the PML-N senator said.
Ahead of the PTI event, the Islamabad administration had taken extraordinary security measures and blocked all the entry points of the city with containers.
Addressing Gandapur, the PML-N lawmaker said it was “not possible that you threaten the institutions and the parliament that we will not let things run”.
“We have vowed that we will not let political incitement continue […]. No matter how much legislation we have to do to achieve this or give strict punishments, we will do so,” Chaudhry affirmed.
“As long as you had the facilitation and General Faiz [Hameed], you were able to do everything [but] now, you could not even organise a small rally,” the PML-N leader claimed.
He went on to say that even if the PTI held scores of rallies or initiated a movement over May 9 cases or the £190m graft case against incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, it would “not get an NRO”.
The senator censured the PTI leaders at Sunday’s rally for only speaking about Imran rather than the issues affecting the common citizens, such as inflated power bills, rising food costs and the economy.
Hinting at difficulties for the PTI in obtaining permission for future rallies, Chaudhry said that the party’s violation of the agreement with the Islamabad administration for the rally would be considered when reviewing future requests.
Accusing the PTI-run Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of corruption, the Chaudhry demanded that the party “return the money embezzled” under the Peshawar metro, Billion Tree Tsunami, and road construction projects.
“It is not possible that the money that should have been spent on the people of KP is used to organise rallies and descent upon Islamabad,” he said.
During his address, the PML-N leader went as far as terming Imran an “Israeli agent”, basing his allegation on a recent blog in Times of Israel that itself termed Imran’s potential role in shaping Pakistan-Israel relations as “speculative”.
CM Gandapur ‘crossed a line again’: Azma Bokhari
Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said CM Gandapur “crossed a line again” yesterday during his speech at the Islamabad rally.
While addressing a press conference in Lahore, Bokhari said that Gandapur had “used foul language against women [and] issued threats”, adding that it was “not the first such incident”.
“Gandapur wants his leader to be freed within 15 days. I give him 20 days, do what you can. We will see,” the PML-N leader said.
Bokhari claimed that Gandapur’s constituency was now a “no-go area” and was under the control of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“KP is burning under terrorism,” she remarked.
“In his area, two judges were attacked, three army officials were kidnapped and in the last six months — since he has been in power — there were five attacks on police and many officers were martyred,” she said.
“In the past 12 years in KP, they have not been able to tell us about one school, one hospital or one development project that they have implemented,” she said.
