Unaware of Gandapur's whereabouts after LEAs entered KP House: top aide

Absence of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister became a mystery amid the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protests in Islamabad as his aide Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that he was unaware of Ali Amin Gandapur's whereabouts after law enforcers entered KP House earlier today.

Adviser to KP CM on Information Saif, speaking to Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan" on Saturday, claimed that CM Gandapur was accompanied by his staff when Rangers personnel entered the KP House in Islamabad.

"We would have known if Ali Amin Gandapur departed for Peshawar [from Islamabad]," he said, adding: "[…] no one has been able to contact the chief minister so far." He confirmed that the KP chief executive had reached KP House after leaving motorway.

He also confirmed that he had a conversation with the chief minister via satellite phone at 8am today, however, his whereabouts are unknown as of now.

Commenting on speculations regarding Gandapur's potential arrest, Saif said that it would be a contempt of court as the Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted bail to the KP CM.

He added that all elected representatives have exemptions under Article 248 of the Constitution.

It is noteworthy to mention here that heavy contingents of police and Rangers entered the KP House in the federal capital earlier today after CM Gandapur reached Islamabad and went to the residence of the provincial government.

However, sources closer to the government rejected the reports about the KP chief minister's arrest by law enforcers.

Defending the major opposition party's ongoing protests, the KP government official said that every citizen reserved the right to hold demonstration in accordance with the Constitution.

Law and order situation of Islamabad remains precarious as the Imran Khan-founded party tried to stage a protest at D-Chowk amid the imposition of Section 144 (which bars political activities and gatherings) in the twin cities to ensure security, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's meeting.

The opposition party initiated a series of protests for the independence of judiciary and the release of its founder Imran, who has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail for more than a year.

Clashes also broke out between the law enforcers and party workers, with both sides claiming that the other had attacked them.

Police fired tear gas at the protesters on Saturday in the capital as well as the convoys tried to enter Islamabad, while the workers used slingshots to hit the law enforcers.

The PTI's protests entered the second day in Islamabad while it also started in Lahore, badly affecting the routine life due to blockade of roads, police-protesters’ clashes, and suspension of metro services.

Citing the tense situation, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the local authorities earlier today to allocate a designated place to the PTI for organising its demonstration and to stop any unlawful protest in the federal capital that create situation of lockdown or disrupt peace during the period of SCO summit.

The directives were issued by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq through a three-page order after hearing the petition filed by Traders Welfare Association President Raja Hassan Akhtar, who sought the court's order to stop the ongoing protest in Islamabad.