PTI protest: Gandapur wants speedy completion of missing, deceased workers' lists

• CM Gandapur announces Rs10m for families of deceased workers.
• Terms party workers assets who stood firm against persecution.
• Stresses legal action to secure the arrested PTI workers' release.
  

MANSEHRA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has called for prioritisation of expedited completion of the list of PTI workers who are missing or have died during the party's latest Islamabad protest saga, The News reported on Friday.

"Our priority should be to finalise the lists of party workers who were killed, arrested or still missing after the law enforcement agencies' crackdown on our peaceful sit-in in the federal capital," said the provincial chief executive while speaking in a meeting attended by party leaders.

The development comes as nearly 1,000 PTI workers, as per the party's claim, were arrested by LEAs in the government crackdown against the crowd that had gathered in Islamabad's D-Chowk as part of their "do-or-die" protest to secure party founder Imran Khan's release who has been incarcerated for more than a year.

The Khan-founded party, as reported by Reuters, has claimed that hundreds of protesters were shot resulting in casualties ranging from anywhere from eight to 40.

However, the government has categorically denied direct firing by LEAs and has ruled out any fatalities in the government action.

Speaking to foreign media, along with Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar said that both major hospitals of Islamabad — Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and Polyclinic — had issued statements that no bodies were brought there.

The minister's clarification came as three Rangers personnel along with two policemen were martyred in clashes with the protesters.

Speaking at the PTI leaders' meeting, CM Gandapur said: "Once these lists are completed, we will initiate the distribution of compensation of Rs10 million each to the families of the deceased, and legal proceedings will begin to secure the release of arrested party workers and office-bearers."

He added that the PTI's legal team had been tasked with preparing necessary formalities to lodge the first information report against law enforcement agencies for allegedly directly targeting peaceful workers and party leaders during the crackdown.

Gandapur, who had already announced that the ongoing protest would continue until Khan was released but called it off, assured attendees that party workers would not be abandoned at this critical time.

"Our party workers are assets who have stood firm against unprecedented persecution to secure their leader Khan's freedom. We will never leave them alone during this difficult period," he reiterated.

Speaking to the reporters, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai said that the federal government should have avoided what he alleged was bloodshed and remarked: "The government by resorting to firing on peaceful protesters has set a dangerous precedent [....] A large number of party workers have either been killed or arrested and tracing their whereabouts is now the party's top priority".

Yousufzai admitted that internal issues within the party had caused some setbacks during the ongoing sit-in.

"Raising such concerns within the party is part of the democratic process," he said.

The huddle — attended by National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, Member National Assembly (MNA) Shahzada Gustasap Khan, PTI's provincial vice-president Kamal Saleem Swati and others — also discussed the situation that arose after the crackdown on PTI's sit-in at D-Chowk in Islamabad.