PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party on Tuesday decided to get an FIR registered against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for ‘ordering’ use of tear gas and batons against the party workers who were protesting the provincial government’s alleged corruption here the other day.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s secretariat here, PPP provincial president Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha said workers were subjected to severe violence without any reason.

“Our rally was about to end peacefully and there was no logic for using tear gas, which caused injuries to at least four people,” he said.

Flanked by former provincial president Najjamuddin Khan, MPA Ahmad Karim Kundi, provincial spokesman Gohar Khan Inqilabi and others, the PPP provincial chief said his party would not stop its campaign against the provincial government’s alleged corruption.

Bacha says PTI govt should come clean on corruption reports

He alleged that PTI government should clarify its position about the reports regarding massive corruption instead of attempting to suppress political opponents.

The PPP leader said it was plainclothes men, not the police, firing tear gas shells.

The PPP leader said holding peaceful protest was democratic right of every citizen.

Mr Bacha said Peoples Lawyers Forum members were working to prepare a case against the chief minister.

Meanwhile, opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa condemned the use of tear gas and batons against the protesting PPP workers, and described the action as against democratic norms.

In separate statements issued on Tuesday, ANP central president Senator Aimal Wali Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz provincial president Amir Muqam and Jamaat-i-Islamic provincial emir Inayatullah Khan said that every political party had constitutional right to peaceful protest.

Aimal Wali said that use of tear gas and force against PPP workers was totally wrong. He criticised the PTI government for using state power to suppress the voices of political workers, questioning the legitimacy of such actions.

He pointed out the ‘double standards’ of the PTI government, which often claimed to be a champion of democracy and human rights when it was on the receiving end, but used force against other parties when they protested.

Similarly, Mr Muqam also condemned the police action, calling it a blatant example of ‘fascism’.

He emphasised that the voices of people could not be suppressed through violence and tear gas, and that the PTI government’s ‘fascist’ face had been exposed.

He implied that the government’s actions were aimed at diverting attention from its ‘failures and corruption’.

Meanwhile, JI leader Inayatullah, in a video message, described the police action as unconstitutional and stressed the need for political tolerance.

He said his party believed every citizen, including the political parties, had the right to express views and criticise the government policies in a free manner.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2025