Islamabad: Pakistani authorities arrested several leaders of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, including its chairman and around a dozen lawmakers, as National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Tuesday promised action against those responsible for the crackdown.
The Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers had clashed with police, injuring several police officials, including a senior officer, during a rally of the party on Sunday. The government accused the party of violating the permission for the rally by over-stepping the allotted time limit.
PTI chairman Gohar Khan and fellow member of parliament Sher Afzal Khan Marwat were arrested from outside the Parliament building while leading lawyer and party leader Shoaib Shaheen was arrested from his office by Islamabad police on Monday night, according to police spokesperson Jawad Taqi.
PTI spokesman Zulfi Bokhari confirmed in a WhatsApp group that thirteen PTI leaders were arrested since night raids, including Gohar Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, Shoaib Shaheen, Sheikh Waqas, Zain Qureshi, Ahmad Chatha, Molana Naseem, Awais Jhakhar, Amir Dogar, Shah Ahad, Yousaf Khattak, Lateef Chitrali and Zubair Khan.
National Assembly Speaker Sadiq took notice of the development and said he “will take action on the incident and address it seriously”.
Sadiq, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, further said that if necessary, an FIR would be filed, and those involved in the crackdown would be named as he summoned political leaders from all parties for an urgent meeting in his chamber to discuss further steps.
He also summoned Islamabad’s Inspector General of Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi and a senior superintendent of police for allegedly arresting the PTI leaders from within the jurisdiction of the parliament.
According to a parliamentary rule, police should inform the speaker before arresting any lawmaker and the rule was violated in the case.
The PTI also shared videos on social media about the arrest of some of its leaders.
Speaking to the media after his release on Tuesday evening, Gohar termed the arrests as an attack on the parliament and September 9 as “a black day for Pakistan”.
“PTI will not forget this,” he said. “This time, CCTV footage would be disclosed and this time, the common person would not be punished.”
He said that the PTI was targeted by the government, but the party forgave it for the sake of the country, people and democracy.
“Our election result was changed, but we didn’t go for a rally, we didn’t resort to a boycott,” Gohar said. “We stayed in parliament so we could play our role and we did so.”
He warned that if the largest political party was not given space, then non-political elements would get stronger. “Extremist and separatist movements will get stronger,” he said.
He also announced to challenge the arrest of other party leaders in the high court.
Referring to Marwat’s arrest, the PTI said in a post on X that the “PML-N government should be completely ashamed of this step against a sitting MNA”.
In another post on X, the party condemned the “illegal” arrest of party chairman Gohar Khan. “This is a moment of shame for entire parliament, as this must be considered a direct attack on the remaining democracy in Pakistan…Speaker NA should be ashamed for allowing such disrespect to parliament. Pakistan has descended further into the undeclared Martial Law,” the post said.
Omar Ayub Khan, the Leader of the Opposition, condemned the arrests and alleged that Islamabad police had formed teams to arrest him, PTI leader Zartaj Gul Wazir, and “other colleagues”.
“This fascist regime and its backers have gone completely mad,” Omar wrote in a statement on X. “Just found out that they have included my name along with Zartaj Gul sahiba and other colleagues in 2 additional FIRs. Islamabad Police teams have been made for our arrests.”
Speaking against the arrest in the parliament, PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan condemned the police raid at Parliament House, calling it an assault on democracy and Pakistan.
“Democracy has faced arrests before, but what happened last night, with masked men entering parliament and arresting members, is unacceptable,” he said.
Members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), both government allies, also expressed discontent with the arrests, warning that it would further escalate tensions.
The arrests come just a day after the PTI flexed its muscles through a political rally in the suburbs of Islamabad, demanding the release of their leader Imran Khan and warning to get him out of jail through street protests.
The 71-year-old former-cricketer-turned-politician faces a slew of legal cases and has been in prison for more than a year after being sentenced in a graft case.
Khan was arrested on August 5 last year after his conviction in the first Toshakhana corruption case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Since then, he has been in jail in different cases.
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