Following the imposition of an emergency in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has claimed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has been arrested and moved to an undisclosed location, while other senior party leaders have also been taken into custody.
According to PTI Deputy Information Secretary Ikram Khattana, those arrested include Provincial President Junaid Akbar, Provincial Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, and Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Shahid Khattak.
He stated that the imposition of Governor’s Rule and a state of emergency in the province constitutes an attack on the mandate of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the arrest of elected public representatives is condemnable. He added that party workers would soon take to the streets, as the provincial president has already issued instructions to this effect.
A high-level meeting was held to review the law and order and security situation in the province, presided over by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, and attended by senior officials from security agencies and the provincial administration.
Participants in the meeting included Advisor on Home Affairs Kifayatullah Khan, Chief Secretary Dr. Muhammad Fakhr-e-Alam Irfan, Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Amjad Ali Khan, Additional IG Special Branch Muhammad Kashif Alam, Additional IG CTD, CCPO Dr. Mian Saeed, Joint Director General IB Arshad Ali Khan, and other relevant officials. During the meeting, the Governor was given a detailed briefing on law and order, counter-terrorism measures, and the overall security situation in the province. In view of the prevailing circumstances, it was decided that educational institutions across the province would remain closed today.
It was also decided during the meeting that the containers placed in Peshawar would be removed in phases, and internet services would be partially restored as needed to allow daily life to gradually return to normal.
Addressing the meeting, Faisal Karim Kundi commended the role of the administration and the police, noting that it was a positive development that no major untoward incident had occurred despite the current situation.
He stated that eradicating terrorism is the provincial government’s top priority and that the capabilities of the police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) would be further enhanced to ensure law and order.
Meanwhile, following the imposition of Governor’s Rule and a state of emergency, a process of large-scale transfers within the provincial bureaucracy and police force has been initiated. According to sources, more than a dozen Deputy Commissioners have been transferred and directed to report to the Human Resource Management Department. The officers affected by the transfers include Wasif Rehman (Mardan), Tariqullah (Swabi), Maqbool Hussain (Lower Chitral), Manzoor Afridi (Upper Dir), Abdullah Shah (Shangla), Fayyaz Sherpao (Malakand), Saleem Jan (Swat), Sohail Ahmed (Upper Swat), Muhammad Shoaib (Battagram), Khalid Iqbal (Mansehra), Sarmad Saleem (Abbottabad), Islah-ud-Din (Haripur), Captain Sanaullah (Peshawar), Fazal Rahim (Charsadda), Muhammad Faheem (Bannu), Hamidullah (Lakki Marwat), and Asad Sarwar (Karak).
The government has also appointed new Deputy Commissioners in several districts. These include Shah Saud (Mardan), Nasrullah (Swabi), Waseem Ahmed (Haripur), Ehsanullah (Lower Chitral), Arif Khan (Malakand), Dilnawaz Khan (Upper Dir), Shehryar Qamar (Upper Swat), Gohar Ali (Battagram), Yasir Ali (Mansehra), Mian Behzad Adil (Abbottabad), Shahid Rafiq (Lakki Marwat), Mansoor Arshad (Charsadda), Afaq Wazir (Peshawar), Zia-ur-Rehman (Bannu), and Adnan Abrar (Swat).
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