Gandapur asks ‘powerful quarters’ to declare clemency, move forward

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Thursday asked the “powerful quarters” to declare clemency and move forward to put the country on the road to progress.

“We don’t want to fight anyone. What we want is the development and prosperity of the country. The military, police and judiciary are all ours and so are the masses,” he said while speaking at a public meeting in his hometown.

The gathering was arranged at the anniversary of the violent acts seen in various parts of the country on May 9 last year, when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers’ protests against the arrest of the party founder Imran Khan turned violent. Chief Minister Gandapur, who is also the provincial president of PTI, in his speech admitted that May 9 was a black day and condemned it. “But it is also important to determine who were the masterminds of these events. We will tell the nation who were the perpetrators of May 9 and who were the beneficiaries,” he added.

The chief minister said party founder Imran Khan had told them in advance that he would be attacked, imprisoned and efforts would be made to finish his party. “All his predictions later proved true,” he added. He said the PTI leaders and workers had undergone unprecedented tribulations after the May 9 violence. “But the PTI will neither bow down nor allow the nation to kneel before anyone,” he pledged. The chief minister said he was a witness to several events which were preceded by May 9. “This system will stand exposed if I speak up,” he warned. Referring to the recent press conference by the Inter-Services Public Relations head where he had sought an apology from those who had indulged in violence on May 9, 2023, Gandapur said the ISPR chief should not indulge in political talks. “We have pardoned all despite being in the government. But who will seek apology for what had happened to our leaders and workers?”

He lamented that fake cases were instituted against him in eight districts after the May 9 incidents. “I ask those who had instituted fake cases to seek an apology. Our leaders are still in jails but no crime has been proven against them,” added Gandapur. The chief minister said his leader Imran Khan was a popular leader. “He is in jail for the masses and the country.” Gandapur said he was not afraid of the governor’s rule in KP. But if that was imposed, the people would occupy both the Governor’s House and Chief Minister’s House as only people’s rule is permissible in KP.