LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari says Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was in hiding to stage a kidnapping or arrest drama.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, she blamed PTI leader Imran Khan for inciting his party men to vandalism and riots. She said the “revolutionaries’ Che Guevara Gandapur” vanished from the KP House in Islamabad like Aladdin’s genie.

She claimed the PTI workers were carrying modern weapons to attack Islamabad.

“A video shows them equipped with modern weapons for an assault on Islamabad. Later, it was claimed that one of my employees was involved.”

The minister said a constable was killed and dozens of policemen were injured by the PTI in Islamabad protest.

“Riot groups set 10 vehicles and 31 motorcycles on fire, vandalised 441 rooms of the Safe City Authority and wreaked havoc across Islamabad,” she said.

She expressed gratitude to the people of Punjab for rejecting the PTI. She said the PTI was expecting a huge crowd in Lahore but its wish could not be realised. She accused the PTI of wasting the KP’s entire budget on rallies and protests, and even though they were given rescue vehicles and cranes for public welfare, they took them towards Islamabad.

The minister said the lists of government employees were being compiled, and anyone involved in the PTI’s ‘malicious design’ would face punishment.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2024