When PTI leader Imran Khan plans another protest march in the style of the party’s Azadi March, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan says he will deploy his province’s “might.”
“I am warning you that if Imran Khan calls for another march, I will deploy the force of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the chief minister warned during a lawyer’s conference in Peshawar on Monday. He didn’t go into detail about what he meant by “force.”
CM Mahmood made these remarks at a lawyers’ convention in Peshawar on Monday, apparently referring to the PTI’s “Haqiqi Azadi March” on Islamabad on May 25, which ended before reaching D-Chowk — the march’s destination — after Imran gave the government a six-day deadline to announce general elections and warned that if his demands were not met, he would “return” to the capital.
Police raids were carried out at the homes of PTI workers and leaders on the eve of the march’s start, and arrests were made as the government sought to derail the demonstration, claiming it was aimed at creating “chaos and disturbance.”
Following that, the protest march saw the use of force, roadblocks, and skirmishes between police and protestors, with deaths recorded among PTI protesters and law enforcement personnel.
Later, accusations of rioting, violation of Section 144, and other offences were filed against various PTI leaders.
In recent lectures, Imran Khan has threatened that in the next iteration of the Azadi march, his workers will design a “better plan.” He has also stated that the march was called off to avoid carnage, and that some of his demonstrators were “also armed” in an interview.
“Those of our people who have been hurt [in police clashes] – we are going to court against this imported administration,” Chief Minister Mahmood stated of the incident.
He further stated that he and Imran had met with the Insaf Lawyers Forum and instructed them to compile documentation to file a case against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (premeditated murder).
“We are not going to spare him,” he stated, adding that he had previously taken part in a “peaceful rally.”
Earlier in his speech, the KP chief minister said he had sought legal advice and promised to “avenge what this imported and inept (federal) government has done to Khyber Pakthunkhwa and its people.” The chief minister didn’t go into detail about what he was talking about.
He appealed to the public for support, declaring that he would be taking the federal government to the Supreme Court.
He dubbed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a “rangeela” and a “mental case” in a jab at him.
Chief Minister Mahmood then alluded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s previous address, in which he stated that he would “sell his shirt off his back and offer them with the cheapest wheat flour.”
“These are robbery costumes that no one wants to buy,” claimed the chief minister.
On Sunday, he also reacted to the prime minister’s 24-hour ultimatum, in which the premier demanded that the price of a 10kg wheat flour bag be reduced to Rs400.
Chief Minister Khan responded to the statement by saying: “Imported prime minister, ineligible prime minister, thief prime minister, I’m giving you an ultimatum. We shall take our right – the right of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — from you.”
He closed his remarks by saying, “We are going to pursue a lawsuit against them, and God willing, we will succeed.”
