Achi news desk-
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday issued an official notification to withdraw the protocol from the former chief ministers.
Prime Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur had earlier announced this in his first public speech after taking oath as Prime Minister. Later, the state cabinet approved the Chief Minister’s decision.
However, the establishment department has named only four former prime ministers in its notice, including Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Pervez Khattak, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan and Pir Sabir Shah.
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It was not clear why some former prime ministers including Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Akram Khan Durrani and Mahmood Khan were not mentioned in the notice.
After the government notification, Mahmood Khan, once associated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and later parted ways with PTI and formed his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) on March. The Prime Minister’s decision to withdraw security was challenged in the Peshawar High Court.
When contacted, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, said that it was the unanimous decision of the Cabinet to withdraw the protocol from all former Prime Ministers. He said he was out of Peshawar, so he did not know why some former prime ministers were not included in the notification.
He confirmed that PTIP Chairman Mehmood Khan had approached the court against the provincial government’s decision but could not confirm whether the court had given him an injunction.
Barrister Saif said the government has provided eight policemen, a telephone operator and a secretary to each prime minister for his security.
According to the notification, Khadim Hussain (BS-17) was serving as Private Secretary to former Prime Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti. They were instructed to report to the Institutional Department immediately.
Ali Hasan Qureshi, (DPE BS-17), serving as Private Secretary to former Prime Minister Pervez Khattak, is also a former Provincial President of PTI. He is instructed to report directly to his parent department ie Elementary and Secondary Education (A&SE).
Similarly, Obaidullah Saleem, Senior Stenographer (BS-16), who was working as Private Secretary to former Prime Minister Sardar Mehtab Khan, was directed to fill the vacant post in the RI Department Report of his parent E&AD.
Syed Haris Shah, Stenographer BS-14, who was performing duty as Private Secretary to the former Prime Minister Pir Sabir Shah, was directed to report to his parent department ie the Irrigation Department.
Among the former prime ministers, Amir Haider Khan Hoti belongs to the Awami National Party and survived several terrorist attacks including suicide bombings.
Pervez Khattak belonged to PTI but later left the party and formed his own PTI.
However, he resigned from the PTI-P when he started talking to PTI leaders after the February elections, and the PTI MPA invited him to join the state assembly if he joined PTI-P if you want reserved seats in the assembly.
It was one of the few conditions from the PTI leadership that they would like to join the PTIP in the KP assembly but when Pervez Khattak was not part of the party in any capacity. He first resigned as president of PTI-P and then resigned from the core membership of the party, led by Mehmood Khan.
The two prime ministers, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan and Pir Saber Shah, who were deprived of the protocol, belonged to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
