KP police ordered to exercise restraint as PTI march reaches Mardan

Police in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have been instructed to avoid force against peaceful protests, Dawn reported as Chief Minister Sohail Afridi addressed marchers in Mardan on October 10.

Police chief Zulfiqar Hameed directed the most senior officer present to negotiate with protesters. The guidelines, seen by Dawn, require any lawful use of force to be phased and limited to the minimum necessary.

For violent protests, the document sets out warnings, dispersal measures and arrests. In cases of extreme violence and an imminent threat to life or property, aerial firing requires the senior officer's direction. Police were also instructed to record processions on video.

Afridi said he would reject measures he considered illegal, including an emergency or governor's rule. Dawn reported that the federal government was considering those options amid disagreements over counterterrorism policy.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf march began on October 4 to demand Imran Khan's release. By its seventh day it had reached Mardan but remained within the province. Afridi plans to announce the next phase at Swabi on October 13. The final route remains unsettled.