SWAT/MARDAN: Separate incidents involving “abductions” of provincial housing minister Dr Amjad Ali and the manager of MPA Fazal Hakim Khan Yousafzai were reported in Swat on Friday, sparking unrest among PTI workers.

Family sources claimed that unidentified masked men forcibly took minister Dr Ali away from his house in Shamozai. They ransacked his hujra. They said they’re initiating a legal process for the registration of a kidnapping case.

In Mingora, unidentified armed men “abducted” Ihsan Alam Sani, the manager of MPA and PTI Malakand region president Fazal Hakim Khan Yousafzai.

Mr Hakim condemned the “abduction” and vandalism and demanded swift police action for Dr Ali’s safe recovery. He said the culprits should be traced without delay.

However, the police said that they were unaware of the incident.

In Mardan, scores of PTI workers staged a protest against the “kidnapping” of party MPA Abdul Salam Afridi.

The protesters included MPAs Zahir Shah Khan Toru and Iftikhar Ali Mashwani, who gathered outside the press club building. They blocked the road for several hours, causing a traffic mess.

The speakers demanded that the abducted public representative be released immediately. They said such “cowardly tactics” wouldn’t weaken the PTI’s resolve for rights.

“We will not tolerate abductions, intimidation or hooliganism under any circumstances,” said Mr Toru.

The police registered an FIR over the lawmaker’s “abduction” against unidentified people on the complaint of his personal assistant Abbas Ali Shah.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2026