Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), the main opposition party in the country, demanded, on Monday, 29 October, the whereabouts of several of its leaders, including the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sohail Afridi, kept in “preventive detention” by the state.
The PTI has claimed that Afridi, Speaker of the Provincial Assembly Babar Saleem Swati, and at least six other members of the KP provincial assembly were “missing” since the dismissal of the elected government in the province on 11 October.
Afridi and other PTI legislators were arrested on 11 October, hours after Pakistan’s federal government imposed a state of emergency and governor’s rule in the province.
Though the Pakistan government has maintained that the concerned leaders are all in preventive detention, it has neither produced them in court, disclosed their location, or allowed anyone to meet them.
The police have, meanwhile, filed fresh cases of violence and arson against Afridi and other PTI leaders, accusing them of being involved in May 2023 protests against the attempted arrest of the party’s leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Calling the arrest of its leaders an unprecedented and unconstitutional crisis, the PTI has filed several petitions in the courts for their release. On Monday it also demanded an urgent discussion on the matter in the National Assembly.
“The reported detention of elected representatives holding constitutional and parliamentary offices raises serious concerns regarding the functioning of democratic institutions, the representation of the people, and the protection of the rights and privileges of the elected representatives,” the PTI notice for the discussion in the NA says.
Act of political vendetta
The Afridi government in the state was dismissed by the federal government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sherif, on 11 October, over allegations of failing to maintain law and order and prevent terrorism.
However, the dismissal is linked to Afridi leading a “long march” of PTI supporters to the capital, Islamabad. The protesters were demanding the release of Khan, who has been incarcerated since August 2023 on various charges, including the misuse of power, corruption, and violence.
The PTI claims all the charges against Khan are fabricated and politically motivated and were part of the plan of the ruling parties and the armed forces to keep him out of national politics.
Afridi’s dismissal and arrest led to popular protests in different parts of KP in the last week and security forces fortifying the provincial capital, Peshawar. The PTI has also alleged that its workers and offices have been attacked since the imposition of governor’s rule.
At least five people were injured when security forces clashed with the protesters in Bara last week. Hundreds of others were arrested from different parts of the province for attempting to protest the dismissal of the only government led by the opposition party.
The PTI has also filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court against the federal government’s move to dismiss the state government in KP, calling it a violation of the popular right to choose their government and other constitutional provisions.
Its leaders reiterated their allegations about the Sharif government, calling it illegitimate and a stooge of the armed forces. They claimed that the KP government was the “only elected” government in the country, and its dismissal was part of a political vendetta.
The PTI, along with other groups in the country have repeatedly alleged that the 2024 national elections were rigged to prevent Imran Khan from coming back to power.