Govt employees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa warned not to help protest march by Imran Khan's party

Peshawar: Government employees in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have been officially warned of dire consequences against their participation and use of government machinery for the proposed protest march by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party on Sunday.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief secretary Aslam Nadeem Chaudhry, and provincial police chief Akhat Hayat Gandapur issued separate official letters on Thursday barring the employees the use of government resources under their command and from participation in the protest march to Islamabad by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The development came hours after the Ministry of Interior directed the KP chief secretary through a letter to ensure that the “state machinery, equipment, officials, and finances” should not be utilised “for political protest by the political party.” Khan's arch rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) heads the coalition at the federal level while his PTI rules in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The official letters were issued in view of the previous protest by the PTI in October when massive government resources and manpower of the province were used by the PTI-led government headed by Ali Amin Gandapur.

The PTI gave a call last week for a long march to Islamabad to press for three demands: the release of the incarcerated party founder, against the alleged “stolen mandate” during February 8 elections and restoration of the judiciary by revoking the recent 26th amendment to the Constitution that granted legislators more power in appointing top judges.

Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General (IG) Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, in his letter to the regional police officers (RPOs) directed them not to be a part of political activities.

Earlier, Chaudhry's letter addressing the IG, provincial secretaries, commissioners and police officers said that the police and administrative officers should obey only those orders of the political leadership, which were within the constitutional framework.

“You (the government functionaries) must all refrain from providing direct or indirect support to any political party or activity, whether through your person, subordinates or the resources at your disposal,” the chief secretary said in the letter.

Several Rescue 1122 persons and police officials from KP had been arrested in Islamabad for their participation in the PTI's D-Chowk protest in October. They were later released from Attock jail and received a warm welcome by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur earlier this month.

The federal government had blamed the PTI-led KP administration for utilising state machinery, finances, and public servants as its “political force” for “attacking” the country's capital during their protests.

Khan, 72, has been implicated in dozens of cases since his government was dismissed through a no-confidence motion in 2022. He has been in Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi since last year facing, according to his party, over 200 cases; got bail in some of them, convicted in some others, and hearings going on for some more.

Khan's party won the largest number of seats in the February general elections despite contesting as independents as the party was denied an election symbol and the PTI chief has already alleged that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its coalition partners, including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had “stolen the mandate” to grab power at the federal level.

Relations between the PTI and the PML-N-led coalition government —already tense since Khan’s ouster in 2022 — have strained even more in recent times.