The Deputy Commissioner, Malakand Zafar Ali Shah has confirmed the arrest of both parliamentarians. He told that the FIR against the two PTI parliamentarians has been registered The Deputy Commissioner said the PTI leaders were leading protesters, who ransacked the PESCO office and torched office furniture and records during the protest against load-shedding. The levies personnel, he said had took both PTI leaders into custody.
Sharing details, Deputy Commissioner, Zafar Ali Khan, said that a mob led by adviser to Chief Minister KP, Shakeel Khan, barged into the PESCO office in Batkhela area of Malakand. However, he said the situation now is fully under control. He vowed not to allow anyone to take law into his hands. He said that another mob of Pakistan People Party was also protesting. However, additional Levies were deployed to provide protection to public and private properties.
On contact, spokesman PESCO, Shoukat Afzal confirmed that three grid stations of the power company including Rehman Baba, Kohat Industrials area and University Town have been occupied by the two PTI MPAs Fazal Elahi and Arif Yousaf along with a strong mob of PTI workers last night and they were still there operating the grid stations. He said that PTI workers led by Fazal Elahi entered into the Hazar Khwani grid station and a large number of the PTI workers gathered outside to stage protest demonstration. "I don't know what platform we can use to register complaints as the PTI government is behind all such mobs attack on the grid stations," he complained.
"We have requested the police for the registration of FIR against the two parliamentarians but so far no case has been registered against them. The police personnel were also called in but the exercise went in vain, he added. "We want to avoid untoward incident, but helpless in this kind of situation," he said and alleged that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government is behind the attack that was carried on the Rehman Baba grid station by PTI affiliated MPA Fazal Elahi and his supporters.
MPA Arif Yousaf, who is also Adviser to the Chief Minister on Law and Parliamentary Affairs on contact also confirmed that all the three grid stations including Rehman Baba, Kohat Road and University Town were under their control. He said that negotiations with PESCO Officials were well underway to streamline the duration of the load shedding otherwise the control of the grid station would not be handed back to the PESCO officials.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017