Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], September 23 : Hitting back at the criticism over his 'fierce' remarks, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Sunday said that he had "nothing to apologise for" and instead demanded an apology from Pakistan's Punjab government, accusing it of "persecution" of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Dawn reported.
Gandapur received a lot of backlash following his strong remarks made on September 8 at the PTI rally outside of Islamabad. Asserting that the media had yielded to pressure from the government and establishment, Gandapur called them "sycophants" and "sellouts."
Gandapur's statements were deemed unacceptable even by PTI founder Imran Khan.
Speaking to media inside Adiala Jail, he had stated that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM should not have disparaged journalists in this way, and that he had "spoken a bit too much in his rhetoric."
Meanwhile, government leaders and lawmakers urged that Gandapur issue an apology for his remarks.
Gandapur posed the question, "What should I apologise for?" in an online video message as reported by Dawn.
He stated, "The Punjab government has been asking me for an apology but it is them who should apologise--for imprisoning Imran Khan and for attacking and killing my people who were protesting peacefully."
"Zille Shah was a peaceful protester and he was killed...Will IG Punjab apologise? Do not expect us to apologise until you've apologised for persecuting us. I have done nothing that warrants an apology, if you want to file cases, file them...We stand with Imran, we will release him and make him prime minister. I am nobody's slave and will apologise to no one," Gandapur added.
Additionally, he thanked PTI supporters who attended the event on Saturday in Lahore and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on behalf of Khan. "I am grateful to those who stood up for truth," he said.
The PTI's much-awaited Lahore power show had seemingly met an anti-climactic end as lights went out and police personnel cleared the stage after the 6 pm deadline expired following some speeches from leaders to supporters at Kahna in the provincial capital's Ring Road area on Saturday.
By the time the deadline expired, neither Gandapur nor Omar Ayub Khan, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, had arrived at the location. Later on, Gandapur made it to the location, but he was unable to give a speech, as per Dawn.
The Punjab government's decision to end the rally at 6 pm, was "condemned" by Gandapur. "There are no standard rules in this country... We want a single, unified Pakistan, not one state with two attitudes,'' he said.
According to Dawn, Gandapur went on to criticise the authorities for what he considered to be "fake statements" regarding wide roads and convenient access to the rally site. "They have made fake statements to the media that the routes were open, but people are not stupid," he stated.
"For 2 kilometres, they blocked off the rally venue with barriers to prevent people from taking a direct route... If the government is so democratic, they would have let us hold the rally at the Minar-i-Pakistan," he further said.