Islamabad on edge as Imran’s party vows to continue protest

In an embarrassment to government, a large number of PTI protesters managed to reach Islamabad by overcoming multiple barriers

Islamabad: The law and order situation in the Pakistani capital remained tense for the second consecutive day on Sunday as jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s party decided to continue its protest against the government despite the mysterious disappearance of protest leader Ali Amin Gandapur.

Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, in an overnight meeting, decided that the demonstration would go on until the party founder Khan asked his supporters to end it. The political committee of PTI also decided that if Gandapur was arrested, senior party leader Azam Swati would lead the protest. If Swati is arrested, a new leader will be chosen to take command, according to the Dawn newspaper.

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Khan has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for more than a year. Upon his call for the rally, the PTI is demanding Khan’s release, independence of the judiciary, and protesting rising inflation. The political committee also criticised the disappearance of protest leader Gandapur, who is the Chief Minister of the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The committee warned that there would be ‘serious repercussions’ if he was arrested.

Former National Assembly speaker and senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser told the Dawn newspaper that PTI’s political committee decided to continue the protest as long as it gets a clear directive from Khan to end the protest. “It was also decided that Azam Swati will lead the protest if Gandapur is arrested.” However, he warned, arresting a sitting Chief Minister would be disastrous for the country and there would be serious repercussions.

Earlier, in an embarrassment to the government, a large number of PTI protesters managed to reach Islamabad by overcoming multiple barriers. The protesters made it to the capital even after Gandapur left them near the capital for the Chief Minister’s House and went incommunicado.

The fate of Gandapur was unknown. The party and family members were unable to make any communication with him from Saturday evening, said his government spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif. Saif on Saturday first claimed that Gandapur was “arrested”, but later in a post on X said that the “KP CM has not been formally arrested”.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had earlier claimed that no one would be allowed to enter Islamabad, vowing that proper arrangements were in place to deal with protesters. Meanwhile, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly announced to convene its session on Sunday afternoon to discuss the issue of his disappearance.

Separately, Naqvi announced that 564 protestors, including 11 plainclothes personnel from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police, have been arrested during the protests. He said it was the first instance when police have been used in such demonstrations. He also said that among those arrested were 120 Afghan nationals. He also said that the PTI had a plan to stage a sit-in until the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.