MALAKAND: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Junaid Akbar Khan on Sunday condemned the alleged attempt to ‘kidnap’ provincial minister for communications Shakeel Khan in Batkhela. The PTI leader made the allegation in a tweet.

According to sources, the provincial minister’s security guards allegedly opened fire on a “suspicious” car on the Bypass Road in Batkhela, injuring one person. The injured person was taken to a hospital in Batkhela and later shifted to Peshawar. Attempts were made to contact the minister and the Malakand deputy commissioner to seek their comments, but they could not be reached.

The alleged kidnapping attempt drew condemnation on social media platforms. According to sources, an FIR of the incident will be registered at the CTD police station.

The sources said that after the incident, provincial minister Shakeel Khan sent a message to workers in a WhatsApp group asking them to gather at his hujra, following which a large number of workers gathered there.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026