Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur addressed on Tuesday his mysterious absence during the PTI protest in Islamabad last week, where he was “missing for 30 hours.”
At the KP Assembly session, he said: “I initially intended to stay at the KP House to plan future actions, however, I recounted that chaos erupted when the IGP launched an assault on the KP House, leading to the police using tear gas and firing on the protesters.”
It was his second address to the assembly after returning to the province. In his last speech, the chief minister claimed that he was in the estate office all along.
He went on to add that a colleague managed to escort him out and bring him to the picket lines set up outside the KP House. Gandapur claimed that he remained there for four hours, accompanied by his guard named Sami.
His guard, according to the KP CM, informed him that all government and personal vehicle tyres had been slashed. He requested that a vehicle be arranged to head towards Monal, but it took four hours for transportation to be organised amidst heavy rain and a police presence.
The provincial chief minister added that he made a “daring leap” from the picket line, began walking away, and managed to evade the police who failed to spot him. With morning light still dim, Gandapur said he “resorted to throwing stones” to stop passing vehicles. “I had no mobile phone or a single rupee in my pocket; it was just me and the grace of Allah.”
According to the KP CM, his efforts paid off when one vehicle finally stopped—it “was the one he had arranged.” The car was being driven by his official driver, Ikhtiar, from the CM’s House and accompanying him were his guards, Areef Khattak and Tariq on a motorcycle.
When they were about to leave, Tariq joined him in the vehicle, and they set off together. The vehicle’s registration number is “AA 4263,” he said and claimed that it was a government car, along with a motorway MT tag receipt.
After exiting the motorway, he arrived at the residence of a DPO who was not home at the time. With the help of his contacts, Gandapur managed to speak with the DPO over the phone and requested security to take him to the CM’s House in Peshawar.
But the DPO “expressed concern that he could not guarantee confidentiality” regarding Gandapur’s whereabouts. While accepting this, the CM said he decided to “leave on his own and headed directly to Peshawar without stopping.”
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The next morning, Gandapur stated that he contacted the DPO again, who expressed his fear of losing his job if his name was mentioned due to the visit. “Consider this: the chief minister of the province is at his house and he is afraid of losing his job. Who is he afraid of?” Gandapur questioned.
He also announced that all workers who had been arrested during the protests would be released, asserting that they would deliver the “next blow against the collapsing regime.”
He stated: “If Imran Khan gives the order, our next target will be Shehbaz Sharif’s bedroom. If the IG of Islamabad is not removed, we will strike again. He has attacked my province.” He urged supporters to chant, “Sada Haq Aithay Rakh,” and prepare for their return.
