KP minister ‘abducted’ from Peshawar Motorway, claims PTI

On Monday afternoon, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Public Health Engineering Fazal Shakoor Khan was allegedly abducted by masked armed men near the exit of Peshawar Motorway in broad daylight. The minister was reportedly on his way to the provincial capital when his car was intercepted by the assailants, who shifted him to an unknown location, according to his staff.

Alam Khan, the minister's personal secretary, stated that Khan was heading to Peshawar to attend a meeting when the armed men, dressed in police uniforms, apprehended him at the Peshawar Motorway exit in Chamkani police station limits. A video posted on social media showed several masked men approaching the minister's car, with one of them grabbing the car door to open it and another firing shots at the vehicle's tires while it was in motion.

Provincial Minister for Information Shafi Jan condemned the abduction as an attack on the Constitution, law, democracy, and public mandate, emphasizing that they would not be intimidated and would continue to fight for their rights within the bounds of the Constitution and law. A senior PTI leader mentioned that they were unaware of the minister's whereabouts and claimed that the police, chief secretary, and administration were siding with the "other side."

This incident marks the second time a sitting provincial minister has been targeted; a previous case involved Minister for Communication and Works Shakil Khan, who was arrested and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act after opening fire on intelligence agency personnel on Sunday. Police registered an FIR against Shakil Khan and his gunmen at the CTD Bajaur, Malakand region police station.

An FIR was also filed against Minister for Works Shakil Khan for the Batkhela incident, where security personnel reported that he and his colleagues were fired upon by the minister's entourage. The minister's office released a two-page request, alleging threats of murder and kidnapping over several days, claiming that he and his gunmen defended themselves after being fired upon near Batkhela.

PTI workers held protests in Malakand and Charsadda, demanding a thorough investigation into the abduction and the minister's immediate release, accusing the federal government of failing to protect their rights.