Gandapur’s ‘great escape’: What really happened at KP House

In an emotional speech, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Tuesday recounted his experience as he escaped from KP House in Islamabad during the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) protest march to the capital last weekend, detailing the events leading up to his dramatic escape.

The KP Assembly was convened over Gandapur's 24-hour mysterious disappearance this past Saturday and the events leading up to it. Earlier, presuming he was in the custody of state authorities, the assembly passed a unanimous resolution requesting he be presented within 24 hours.

KP House is one among other provincial rest houses in the capital - such as Sindh House, Punjab House, Balochistan House, Gilgit Baltistan House and Kashmir House - that are used by provincial officials when visiting Islamabad.

“After we reached the KP House, shortly after IG Islamabad arrived holding a pistol in his hand, along with Rangers personnel. The DSP, who was the security in-charge of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, was struck on the head with the butt of the pistol. They began beating him and, while hurling abuses, started asking for me, launching an unprecedented attack. They (law enforcement) started beating everyone and firing tear gas as if we were terrorists,” he claimed during his speech.

Supporters and activists of former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party take part in a protest in Lahore on October 5, 2024. AFP

Gandapur said he was unafraid of being arrested but highlighted the aggressive manner in which the authorities attempted to detain him. "Some hypocrites, political leaders, and even some generals were involved in this operation," he claimed, without naming specific individuals.

According to the chief minister, he spent four hours inside KP House as police scoured the premises and arrested numerous individuals. "I was eventually taken out through the back door," he said. "They had seized all the vehicles and arrested everyone present."

Without his phone or any cash, Gandapur said he walked out and requested for a vehicle.

“A vehicle of KP House arrived, and I left,” he continued, explaining that he later sought refuge at a district police officer's (DPO) house. “I asked for security, but I didn’t want anyone to know about it. The DPO wasn’t home, but someone else got me in contact with him,” he added.

Gandapur claimed he later made his way to a petrol pump, where he kept a receipt as proof of his journey. “I traveled through Battagram and other districts before reconnecting with my ideological companions,” he said, commending his supporters for standing firm against what he called “the fascist tactics” of the government.

"This is the state of fascism here. When I told the DPO to patch me through, he said, 'I have small children, please don't tell anyone.' This is the condition of this province. Who appointed him?"

He regretted that the DPO works under the chief minister’s authority but couldn’t provide security.

The chief minister said that he finally reached Peshawar after passing through Battagram, Torghar, Shangla, and Swat.