ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Defence, Khawaja Asif, on Monday issued a challenge to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, urging him to stand by his recent statements and secure the release of his leader, Imran Khan, within 15 days.
In a sharp rebuke of CM Gandapur’s speech at a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally in Islamabad, Khawaja Asif denounced Gandapur’s threats of mobilizing Pashtun workers from his party to march on Punjab and hold a rally in Lahore.
The Defence Minister also censured Gandapur’s comparisons of recent political upheavals in Bangladesh with Pakistan, labeling them inappropriate and incendiary.
Khawaja Asif criticized the KP chief minister for his alleged inability to curb terrorism within his own constituency, suggesting instead that Gandapur should focus on restoring peace locally with his “army” of party workers before attempting any political activities in Punjab.
Questioning the practicality of Gandapur’s claim of commanding an “army” of workers, Asif argued that if such forces exist, they should be utilized to combat terrorism. He warned that failure to manage terrorism could label Gandapur as an accomplice to terrorists.
This confrontation follows a recent PTI rally where Ali Amin Gandapur declared that the military would not be allowed to try Imran Khan, claiming all cases against the PTI founder had been dismissed.
Gandapur also threatened that if the government fails to release Imran Khan from Adiala Jail within two weeks, PTI supporters would take matters into their own hands and announced plans for an upcoming rally in Lahore, regardless of official permissions.
