The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to book Pakistan Democratic Movement leaders for their “hateful statements” against state institutions, Special Adviser to the Chief Minister on Information Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif said on Tuesday.

“The cases are being registered on the basis of hateful and provocative statements made against the army, judiciary and other state institutions in the past,” the CM’s adviser said in a statement.

Barrister Saif’s announcement of the decision taken by the KP government — where the PTI is at the helm of affairs — comes after the registration of a terrorism case against party chief Imran Khan over his controversial remarks about a female judge and a sedition case against his chief of staff, Shahbaz Gill, for his statements about the army during an ARY News bulletin.

He said the cases would be registered under Section 196 (prosecution for offences against the state) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 108-A (abetment in Pakistan of offences outside it) and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Dera Ismail Khan Additional Assistant Commissioner Muneer Ahmad had been authorised under Section 196 of the CrPC to register the cases on the complaint of former federal minister and PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur, he added.

This was corroborated in an August 19 notification issued by the KP government’s administration department.

The notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, states: “In exercise of powers conferred by Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1989 […] and in pursuance of the cabinet’s decision dated August 18, 2022, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is pleased to empower Mr Muneer Ahmad, additional assistant commissioner, DI Khan to receive written complaint(s) from Mr Ali Ameen Gandapur or any other interested party and require local police to lodge FIR(s) (first information reports) under Sections 108-A, 153-A and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 read with any other enabling provisions of law and to sanction and pursue such cases within his respective jurisdictions with effect from August 18, 2022.”