Is the Imran Khan–Munir confrontation driving cases against PTI lawmakers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?

PTI under mounting legal siege

As protests by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) intensify against the current political dispensation and Army Chief General Asim Munir, Imran Khan’s party is facing mounting legal pressure, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

At least 70 lawmakers of the KP Assembly belonging to the Imran Khan-led PTI — including Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur — are wanted by Islamabad Police in multiple criminal cases, according to official records and media reports.

According to a Press Trust of India report citing police sources, 70 of the 92 PTI lawmakers in the KP Assembly have come under the radar of Islamabad Police. Authorities have compiled details of previously registered cases against these legislators, most of which relate to violent protests and attacks on law enforcement personnel in the federal capital.

Police records show that the cases are registered across multiple police stations in Islamabad and largely involve senior PTI leaders holding key positions in the provincial government.

Former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur faces the highest legal exposure, with 52 first information reports (FIRs) registered against him between 2022 and November 2024 in 18 different police stations. Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is wanted in 11 cases, including seven registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), along with additional allegations linked to attacks on police officials.

Other senior figures named include Deputy Speaker of the KP Assembly Suraya Bibi, who was booked in November 2024 for allegedly leading a violent protest, and KP Minister for Local Government and Higher Education Meena Khan Afridi, who faces four cases registered at Golra, Aabpara, Noon and Secretariat police stations in Islamabad.

Cases have also been registered against Speaker of the KP Assembly Babar Swati and Faisal Tarakai, a prominent political figure from Swabi, who has been nominated under seven provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Aaqibullah, the brother of former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, has also been booked, police sources confirmed.

The total strength of the KP Assembly is 145.

The charges against the KP lawmakers include terrorism, attacks on police and Rangers personnel, violations of public order, and other serious offences. According to officials cited by Press Trust of India, most of the PTI lawmakers named in the cases have not yet secured bail from any court.

An Aaj TV report adds that the crackdown has widened beyond the KP Assembly. Islamabad police have also registered a separate case under anti-terrorism provisions against 400 PTI leaders — including Imran Khan’s sisters — over a protest outside Adiala Jail.

The FIR, registered at Rawalpindi’s Saddar Baironi police station, names 35 individuals and 400 unidentified suspects. It cites allegations of attacks on police using petrol bombs, acts of violence, and violations of Section 144.

Court proceedings this week approved a three-day physical remand for 14 suspects arrested overnight in connection with the Adiala Jail protest, signalling intensified enforcement measures against PTI activists.

The scale of the legal action — targeting a sitting chief minister, a former chief minister, and a large section of a PTI-run provincial assembly — underscores how Pakistan’s political confrontation has shifted from street mobilisation to sustained legal and institutional pressure.

With Imran Khan imprisoned and PTI increasingly marginalised at the federal level, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains the party’s principal base of power. The growing number of cases against its lawmakers raises questions about the functioning of the provincial government, the use of anti-terrorism laws in political cases, and the deepening standoff between PTI and Pakistan’s security establishment.

Police investigations are ongoing, and officials have indicated that further legal action is likely as additional participants in recent protests are identified.