PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said here on Saturday that he would abide by the decision of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership regarding the imposition of Governor’s rule in the province.

“It is for the federal government to decide, and it must take all its allies on board. Whatever decision is made by the PPP will be my decision,” Mr Kundi said while speaking to media persons at the Peshawar Press Club.

Asks centre to decide and involve all its allies

The governor, however, said he would not refuse to follow the directions issued by the federal government. He informed that he and Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur both belonged to the same district—Dera Ismail Khan—which was under the control of terrorists, as no one could leave their homes in the evening.

“KP citizens have only one agenda, and that is peace,” the governor said, adding that he had called a multi-party conference (MPC) on December 5 and would invite the chief minister to attend.

The governor said that he had just met a delegation from the merged districts, who discussed ways to maintain peace in those areas.

While talking about the November 24 march by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Islamabad, the governor stated that no leader could be released through sit-ins, but only after court orders.

He said PTI had shown trust in the judiciary and called it independent, adding that if anyone believed the PTI founder had been illegally arrested, they should approach the courts.

Mr Kundi said that the chief minister’s speech during the KP Assembly session on Friday, in which he had stated that they would take up arms, confirmed PTI’s involvement in the riots on May 9. He also questioned why only workers had been arrested while the party leadership had escaped during the sit-ins and protest demonstrations.

The KP governor claimed that the entire PTI leadership from Punjab had taken shelter in the chief minister’s house and alleged that the district administration and municipal authorities had been asked to finance the protests.

Mr Kundi alleged that there were two governments in the province: one run by CM Gandapur and the other by the PTI founder’s wife, Bushra Bibi.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024