Imran Khan's Party Warns Of 'Civil War' In Pakistan After Leader 'Kidnapped' At Gunpoint

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has accused the Shehbaz Sharif government in Islamabad and the Field Marshal Asim Munir-led army of institutional diktat, alleging gunpoint kidnappings and attempts to kidnap its leaders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), days before the party's planned mega protest. 

Pakistan's opposition PTI has called a nationwide protest on September 27, demanding the release of its founder Imran Khan "at all costs." Ahead of the planned protest, police in Lahore have also detained 73-year-old Khan's three sisters, Aleema Khan, Noureen Niazi, and Dr Uzma Khan, along with their children. 

'The Kidnappings'

Now, PTI has alleged that two of its leaders -- including Minister Fazal Shakoor Khan and former provincial minister Shakil Ahmad -- have become the latest targets of authoritarian descent. 

Speaking during a provincial assembly discussion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati alleged that Minister for Public Health Engineering Fazal Shakoor Khan was picked up from the middle of the road by masked men in Peshawar, while an attempt to kidnap Minister Shakeel Khan was foiled in Malakand.

Swati said it was a question mark on the performance of the 'institutions' that masked men were firing at and kidnapping people, according to a Dawn report. He also reportedly accused the police of working as a 'B-team' of 'agencies.'

Fazal Shakoor Khan was reportedly kidnapped by masked men on Monday from Peshawar Motorway Toll Plaza after a brief firing. A video of the purported kidnapping has surfaced on social media, showing unidentified masked men setting up blockades to choke off the main highway. 

Every day scenes in Pakistan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Minister for Public Health Engineering, Fazal Shakoor Khan abducted by masked men this afternoon.

Abducted by Asim Munir's Pakistan Army or TTP? Both in same business. pic.twitter.com/ZebNKc3fIt

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 21, 2026

PTI said the men aimed gunfire directly at the tyres of the minister's vehicle, forcing it to a stop, before forcing him out of the vehicle and taking him away to an undisclosed location. However, other accounts in Pakistani media claimed the confrontation began after his guards allegedly resisted a police search and opened fire.

Simultaneously, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Law Aftab Alam Afridi said that local minister Shakeel Khan was also followed and attacked in Malakand. 

"His guards retaliated, but an FIR was lodged against him," he added.

"What message do they want to give to the provincial cabinet? It is done by the powers-that-be. They want to give a message to PTI that it has no standing," he alleged, taking aim at the Sharif government and Munir-led army. 

Pak Preparers for 'Humanitarian Crisis'

Authorities in Pakistan have also arrested several elected leaders of PTI and raided party offices in a nationwide crackdown ahead of the September 27 march.

At the same time, Islamabad's hospitals have also been placed on emergency footing. A report by Drop Site showed that the Sharif government has issued instructions before the planned protest, directing hospitals to prepare for a potential "humanitarian crisis" and "mass casualty incident" in Islamabad. 

The measures have reportedly started affecting patients in Islamabad hospitals, who were scheduled for surgeries and were told that their procedures would be postponed. 

The instructions to hospitals indicate an institutional preparedness for a brutal crackdown on protesters. 

A Civil War Threat

Despite the crackdown, PTI said it will go ahead with the planned protest. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the party would announce its detailed protest plan on September 25 and mobilise workers across the country.

Khan, 73, has been in jail since 2023 and is currently lodged at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Afridi said arrests of PTI provincial ministers and lawmakers had begun ahead of the protest, prompting an emergency meeting of the party's parliamentary group. The Minister said the party had pursued "all constitutional and democratic avenues" but was being prevented from meeting Khan despite court orders.

He said PTI had no intention of confrontation and would pursue its demands through peaceful and democratic means. He also said party workers would not carry weapons during the protest. 

Afridi also warned that any firing during the protest could lead to retaliation and alleged that the prevailing situation was pushing the country towards 'civil war'.