Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Public Health Engineering Fazal Shakoor Khan was allegedly abducted at gunpoint by unidentified masked men near the exit of Peshawar Motorway on Monday afternoon, according to his staff and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders.

Alam Khan, the minister’s personal secretary, said Mr Khan was travelling to Peshawar to attend a meeting when armed men, allegedly wearing police uniforms, intercepted his vehicle within the jurisdiction of Chamkani police station and took him to an undisclosed location.

A video circulating on social media showed several masked armed men approaching the minister’s car. One man appeared to open the vehicle’s door while another was seen firing shots at the tyres of the moving car.

Provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan, in a statement posted on X, described the alleged abduction as an attack on the Constitution, law, democracy and the public mandate. He said the provincial government would continue its political struggle within the bounds of the Constitution and law.

A senior PTI leader told Dawn that the party had no information about the minister’s whereabouts and alleged that the police, chief secretary and administration were supporting “the other side” rather than the provincial government.

The incident came a day after another KP minister, Shakil Khan, was booked by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) over an alleged firing incident involving intelligence agency personnel in Batkhela.

According to the FIR, security official Naik Bilal told police that he was travelling with a senior officer near Sabar Shah Batkhela on Sunday when a vehicle stopped in front of their car. He alleged that Shakil Khan and three other men got out and opened fire, injuring him in the back.

The CTD registered a case against Shakil Khan and others under sections 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and 34, 427 and 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Police later raided the minister’s house, but he allegedly escaped with his gunmen.

Meanwhile, a request attributed to Shakil Khan and circulated on social media said he had received death and kidnapping threats for several days. He claimed that he came under fire while visiting Batkhela on Sunday and that his gunmen returned fire in self-defence.

PTI workers held separate protests in Malakand and Charsadda, demanding investigations into the Batkhela incident and the alleged abduction of Fazal Shakoor Khan. In Charsadda, protesters demanded the minister’s immediate release.