DERA ISMAIL KHAN: In a bid to foster progress in Pakistan and promote a culture of advancement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has reached out to ‘powerful quarters’, expressing a desire for clemency.
As the president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in KP, Gandapur emphasized his party’s commitment to collaboration and shared aspirations for the nation’s growth and prosperity, stating a preference for constructive engagement over confrontation.
“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,” CM Gandapur said, addressing a public meeting in his hometown.
The meeting was organised to mark a year to the May 9 riots last year, which left the country at the mercy of violent miscreants who took to the streets in the wake of PTI founder Imran Khan’s arrest.
The nation, on Thursday, condemned May 9 riots, paying heartfelt tributes to the country’s armed forces and their sacrifices for the motherland.
In his speech, the KP chief minister condemned the violence that unfolded on May 9, terming it a “black day” in the country’s history. He further spoke about determining who orchestrated the violent episodes that the nation witnessed that day, resolving that his party will expose those benefitting from 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,” the KP CM said.
The chief minister said the PTI founder 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 the CM.
Gandapur maintained that his leader Imran Khan was a popular.
“He is in jail for the masses and the country.” The KP chief minister 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 CM House as only people’s rule is permissible in KP.
