Now-suspended Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi and some of his cabinet members were in preventative custody after the Centre imposed emergency and governor’s rule in the province, officials confirmed on Monday.
The federal government took the measures under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution on Sunday, citing the PTI-led KP government’s “deliberate” inaction on countering terrorism. Opposition parties have condemned the move, alleging it is politically motivated.
Following the imposition, the whereabouts of Afridi were unknown to even his party members, with the PTI saying a day ago he had been arrested. However, there was no official confirmation of his detention, although sources said that Afridi and MNA Junaid Akbar were under house arrest under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
On Monday, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry told Reuters, “Yes, I can confirm that the chief minister (Sohail Afridi) and some of his cabinet members have been taken into preventive custody.”
If any of them have any cases to be tried against them, they will be charged and tried but the others will be released, he said, adding that the detentions happened on Sunday.
A senior police official privy to the developments also confirmed to Dawn that eight people — including Afridi, Akbar and assembly speaker Babar Saleem Swati — had been taken into “preventative custody”.
On Sunday, PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram was quoted as saying that Afridi’s “arrest” could not be viewed in isolation from the federal government’s decision to impose emergency and governor’s rule.
“The arrest of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Junaid Akbar has exposed the political nature of the federal government’s actions,” he contended.
“These measures are not directed at addressing security challenges; they are intended to weaken [the] PTI, undermine the elected government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and disregard the democratic will of its people,” Akram added.
In Peshawar, shipping containers blocked several roads, with heavy police deployment. Residents were also impacted by internet disruptions and mobile service suspensions a day earlier.
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has assumed the role of running the province on behalf of the Centre, with an 11-member technocratic KP Advisory Council formed to assist him.
Chairing the council’s first meeting, Kundi reaffirmed that his top priority was “taking effective steps against terrorism”.
Besides the imposition of emergency, the federal government has also authorised the deployment of Pakistan Army troops and assets in aid of civil power in KP.
The emergency follows heightened tensions between the PML-N-led federal government and the PTI-led KP government. The Centre and opposition have been at odds over various issues, particularly the counterterrorism policy, which is one of the main reasons cited by both parties behind the breakdown of their Oct 3 talks.
The move also coincided with the PTI’s planned week-long march to Islamabad, which remained limited to KP. While the party has vowed to continue with its planned protest, the provincial police have been directed to thwart any such move.