PESHAWAR: Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have arrested around 50 people and registered four cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act following clashes with supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province on October 11.
Samar Haroon Bilour, adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor on information and public relations, said police had responded to rioting and vandalism in a “calibrated way”.
Bilour rejected allegations of live firing by police as “baseless and frivolous”, saying they had been spread by anonymous social media accounts using AI-generated footage.
PTI officials said five people were injured in the clashes, with the most serious incident reported in Bara, around 15 kilometres from the provincial capital, Peshawar.
Clashes and vandalism reported in Bara
PTI Information Secretary Ikram Khatana claimed unidentified people had set fire to a National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) centre in Bara and stormed nearby offices.
Bilour said responsibility for the incident would be established through an investigation, including an examination of video footage and witness statements.
Zulfikar Bukhari, an aide to Imran Khan and PTI spokesperson, shared videos on X that he linked to the violence in Bara Bazaar. He described the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule as a coup and warned that the unrest could spread.
Reuters said it could not independently verify the footage or the competing accounts of the shooting.
PTI rejects emergency rule
President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, suspending the provincial government led by PTI. The federal government cited deteriorating law and order and a surge in militant violence to justify the move.
PTI has rejected the decision, calling it a pretext for a political takeover.
The suspension of PTI’s only provincial government is the latest setback for former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been in prison since 2023.
Khan has faced allegations of inciting riots targeting military installations, corruption and other offences. His wife, three sisters and scores of party activists are also in detention.
He denies the allegations and maintains that they are politically motivated.
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