Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Housing Dr Amjad Ali was allegedly abducted by unidentified armed men after they stormed his residence, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement on Friday. According to the party, the assailants entered the provincial minister’s house, vandalised property and forcibly took him away. The incident was also raised before the Peshawar High Court (PHC) during the hearing of 27 petitions, including those concerning PTI leaders Sohail Afridi, Ali Amin Gandapur and Asad Qaiser, as well as several provincial ministers.

A three-member larger bench headed by Justice Ijaz Anwar heard the petitions. During the proceedings, a lawyer told the court that unidentified persons had taken away provincial minister Dr Amjad Ali during the night. “Nowadays, the situation has again deteriorated, and unidentified persons are picking up our members,” the counsel said, adding that an MPA had allegedly been abducted from Mardan the previous day and a provincial minister from Swat. Justice Ijaz Anwar questioned the situation, observing that such incidents were taking place despite the PTI being in power in the provincial government.

The lawyer requested the court to direct the authorities not to arrest or harass the petitioners until they appeared before the court. The judge asked which authorities the court should issue directions to, observing that it could not issue orders to Islamabad. He also remarked that most members were sitting in Islamabad and questioned why they were present there rather than in Peshawar. The court adjourned the hearing until October 20, directing the parties to come prepared and making it clear that no further adjournment would be granted. The court said it would decide the matter after hearing the parties. In its statement on X, PTI also referred to other recent incidents involving party members.

It said former provincial minister for public health engineering Fazal Shakoor Khan had previously been abducted from Peshawar, while MPA Abdul Salam Afridi was allegedly abducted from Mardan. The party also said that former provincial minister Shakil Khan had been targeted in an assassination attempt and that MPA Sultan Room had gone missing from Swat. Last month, PTI provincial minister, Fazal Shakoor Khan, was reportedly abducted. The Peshawar High Court summoned the investigation officer in a petition seeking his recovery.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)