MIRANSHAH: Police on Monday took Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of the National Assembly Maulana Nasim Ali Shah away from his madrassa, Al-Markaz-ul-Islami, in Ghoriwala, Bannu, in the latest detention of a party figure amid the province-wide crackdown.
A video circulating on social media purportedly showed police officers taking the lawmaker away. The Nasim Ali Shah detained episode was also shared from the detained MNA’s X account. However, the circumstances surrounding his arrest, the cases, if any, registered against him, and his whereabouts following the operation had not been officially confirmed.
Nasim Ali Shah detained as crackdown deepens after governor’s rule
The detention came amid a wider crackdown on PTI leaders and workers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa following the imposition of governor’s rule and a state of emergency in the province on October 11.
Non-functional chief minister Sohail Afridi, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and K-P Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati were among the senior party figures taken into protective custody following the federal government’s intervention. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry also confirmed that Afridi and some members of his cabinet had been placed in preventive custody.
According to a petition filed by Sohail Afridi’s brother, Muhammad Aamir, in the Peshawar High Court, the former K-P chief minister was allegedly taken from the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar on October 11 by armed, masked men in the presence of the city’s police chief. The petition sought his recovery, disclosure of his whereabouts, and a judicial inquiry into the alleged detention.
The federal government imposed governor’s rule and a state of emergency in K-P on October 11, citing security concerns and what it described as the provincial government’s disengagement from counterterrorism efforts. PTI rejected the measures as unconstitutional and challenged them in the Peshawar High Court.
The imposition has been contentious from the start. Rana Sanaullah had earlier tied governor’s rule in K-P to counterterrorism cooperation, while Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said governor’s rule was the last option for KP and warned the PTI over its “excesses”. Within days, another PTI lawmaker was picked up in Mardan as doctors’ leaders were detained in Peshawar.
Party workers, families also targeted
Police also arrested PTI workers in several parts of the province amid the party’s planned long march towards Islamabad. In Swabi, police reported arrests of party workers, while six PTI supporters were detained in Khyber district during protests against governor’s rule.
In a related incident, Afridi’s lawyer, advocate Muhammad Bashir, was also reportedly picked up outside the Peshawar High Court after filing a petition challenging the former chief minister’s detention. He was later released, according to media reports.
Separately, PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi were detained for 30 days under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance in September, ahead of the party’s planned Islamabad march. Imran’s nephews, Shahraiz Khan and Sher Shah, were also briefly detained and later released, according to their lawyer.
The pressure on the party has mounted on multiple fronts. PTI has ordered a probe into its failed long march as blame turned on Afridi, and Junaid Akbar said the party’s doors were open to Fazl’s mediation offer.
FAQs
Who is Maulana Nasim Ali Shah?
He is a PTI Member of the National Assembly who was taken away by police from his madrassa, Al-Markaz-ul-Islami, in Ghoriwala, Bannu, on Monday.
Has his arrest been officially confirmed?
No. The circumstances, the cases registered against him, and his whereabouts had not been officially confirmed at the time of reporting, though a video purportedly showing the detention was shared from his X account.
Why is there a crackdown on PTI in K-P?
The detentions follow the federal government’s imposition of governor’s rule and a state of emergency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, which PTI has challenged as unconstitutional.
Who else has been detained?
Former CM Sohail Afridi, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar, K-P Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, several party workers, Imran Khan’s sisters, and briefly his nephews.
