KP Cabinet amends police act; chief minister empowered to appoint police personnel; can ask Center any time for the change of IG police
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR: Ahead of the PTI’s planned long march to Islamabad on Sept 27, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on Wednesday that staging a protest was a legal and constitutional right.
Addressing a cabinet meeting in Peshawar, CM Afridi alleged that for the past three to four days, “plainclothes individuals” had been targeting PTI workers, office-bearers and elected representatives.
He alleged that an assassination attempt was made on Communications and Works Minister Shakil Khan, who also managed to evade an attempt to abduct him.
CM Afridi further alleged that Minister for Public Health Engineering Fazal Shakoor was abducted by plainclothes individuals, who also opened fire on his car.
“If a minister, a provincial cabinet member is not safe from these thugs, then what about the common man?” he asked. The chief minister emphasised that the treatment being meted out to provincial cabinet members was “unacceptable”.
“These people are afraid of the power of the people. No sane person would take such measures,” he asserted.
He also assailed PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah’s reported remarks labelling the people of KP as terrorists and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz remarks regarding the terror threat from other provinces.
He said that from today, the province would be cut off from the rest of Pakistan and all routes to it would be closed.
“The rest of Pakistan will remain open, but no one will be able to enter or leave KP,” he said.
“What should we make of cutting KP off from the rest of Pakistan and closing all routes? Is there a conspiracy underway? Is an attempt being made to repeat the East Pakistan tragedy?” he asked.
“Whatever conspiracy is being hatched, and whoever is behind it, our clear message to them is: Pakistan belongs to us,” the chief minister said. He asserted that KP was and will continue to be a part of Pakistan.
“Goons dressed in plain clothes are intimidating and threatening our bureaucracy, police, deputy commissioners and district police officers,” he further alleged.
The chief minister advised that the bureaucracy, police, deputy commissioners and district police officers to not to be afraid.
