Police commandoes escorting KP CM in catch-22 situation

PESHAWAR: The police commandos escorting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister would be in a fix as to how to react if the cops deployed by the federal government in Islamabad attempted to stop Pervez Khattak from entering the federal capital today.

A source told The News that KP chief minister is scheduled to attend two high-level meetings in Islamabad today. One meeting is with the officials of the United Nations at 2pm followed by another one with representatives of the European Union at 3pm.

“We have requested the inspector general of police (IGP) Islamabad and his senior superintendent of police (SSP) to provide security and protocol to the chief minister,” a senior official told The News.

The federal government authorities had said they would provide due protocol and security to the chief minister if he is coming for any official meeting. Otherwise, they said he would be dealt with like other workers and leaders of the PTI coming to lockdown Islamabad.

The federal interior ministry also made it clear that no armed escort would be allowed in Islamabad with the KP chief minister. A number of guards escort every chief minister and other high-profile officials during their visits to provide them security. The security of the top government officials has been increased in recent years due to threats of terrorist attacks. Apart from the commandos, an officer of a senior rank normally accompanies the chief ministers of all the provinces during their visits.

Being the lone chief minister from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the country and its former central general secretary of the party, Pervez Khattak has made it clear that he will be heading to the Banigala residence of his party chairman Imran Khan in Islamabad. He will be leading the PTI workers from the Swabi Interchange on the Motorway to Islamabad on Monday, a day ahead of the November 2 proposed lockdown. The procession is scheduled to leave the Swabi Interchange at 10 am.

“This can develop into an ugly situation. Being the top official of the KP government, the chief minister would be definitely escorted by a number of armed police commandos and if anyone tried to stop or arrest him they will have no other option but to react,” said a senior official.

Once in the past, the KP chief minister was stopped by the Punjab Police in Lahore while coming in his official car along with provincial ministers Mohammad Atif Khan, Shahram Tarakai and Shah Farman. The chief minister didn’t have any police escort when he and his ministers were stopped. On another occasion, the vehicle of the KP chief minister was also stopped and briefly seized by the authorities in Lahore in February this year.

A PTI lawmaker Ali Amin Gandapur, who is also a provincial minister, was intercepted by the cops in Islamabad on Sunday. The cops claimed to have recovered unlicensed weapons, liquor and bullet-proof jacket from his car. The long-haired Gandapur, however, claimed that his arms were licensed and that there was honey in the bottle and not liquur as claimed by the police.