DND Report: Following Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Junaid Akbar’s inflammatory rhetoric and threats to destroy Islamabad, the PTI has initiated acts of violence in KP, and Shakeel Khan, a PTI Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Malakand/Swat, opened fire on Levies personnel, leaving two of them injured.
Video footage has surfaced showing Shakeel Khan present at the scene while his guards fired upon the Levies personnel. “Though security agencies are showing restraint, PTI officials are continuously instigating security forces to respond,” said an official of the security forces while talking to DND News on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
It may be mentioned that Junaid Akbar had delivered an inflammatory speech regarding the September 27 protest, threatening to turn Islamabad into “Somnath” and destroy it.
Eyewitnesses to the event were of the view that the shooting incident in Malakand warrants serious attention at the highest level. An FIR has been registered against Shakeel Khan and others, and legal action, including arrests, is essential.
“There is no room for leniency or concession regarding the shooting of Levies personnel; strict action based on a zero-tolerance policy must be taken against those responsible,” commented one eyewitness to the event, who said that the PTI had made the people of KP hostages to its political designs and that the PTI was not letting people live in peace. “Every six months, it starts protests that are always bloody and violent,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention that Junaid Akbar has already warned the security forces that the party will not approach Islamabad through a single route and said protesters will also enter the federal capital through the motorway and from the Margalla Hills.
Junaid Akbar further said, “I make you a witness, we will turn Islamabad into Somnath.”
