Lakki Marwat stand-off comes to an end

Kashmir Affairs minister cancels road inauguration

LAKKI MARWAT:

The stand-off between PTI MPA and former provincial minister Hisham Inamullah and Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur came to an end when Gandapur stepped back from his plan to inaugurate the Sheikh Badin Road in Lakki Marwat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The PTI district leadership announced cancellation of the event scheduled for Saturday after the leaders of Marwat Qaumi Jirga met both parties and convinced them to avoid confrontation.

Tension between Ali Amin Gandapur and Hisham Inamullah increased after Gandapur announced inauguration of a road in the home district of Inamullah. The PTI district leadership also split in two groups and one announced its support for Gandapur while the other backed Inamullah.

Inamullah in a press conference with Salim Saifullah Friday once again blamed Gandapur of removing him from ministry, saying that he (Gandapur) wanted to remove him from the party too but he would not leave PTI.

A large number of Inamullah’s supporters also established a camp near the site of the inauguration who were armed with sticks and guns and openly announced that Gandapur will not be allowed to come to the area.

Sheikh Badin is a famous hill station in Lakki Marwat developed by the British Indian Government for its officers who were very fond of its cold weather and refreshing climate. It was completely covered in forests back then and very well looked after. After independence, however, the site was abandoned and the forest cover removed completely which changed its once famous climate to a greater degree.

In the past Hisham Inamullah wanted a road to be constructed to the site from Lakki Marwat side while Ali Amin Gandapur wanted a road from Dera Ismail Khan. The K-P government approved both the projects but both failed to materialize.

On Saturday Hisham Inamullah announced that he would inaugurate the road with CM or PM himself and warned Gandapur to stay away from his district.

On Friday police and FC had been put on high alert due to the possibility of armed clashes between the supporters of the two PTI politicians.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2021.