RAWALPINDI, November 12, 2024: Several senior leaders from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), along with Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, were briefly detained by Punjab Police outside Adiala Jail on Tuesday. The leaders were later released after a short period of detention.
The arrested leaders included Omar Ayub, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, and Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, a PTI lawmaker.
They were accompanied by Raza, the SIC chief, who is an ally of PTI. The delegation had arrived at Adiala Jail after a court had granted them permission to meet with PTI founding chairman Imran Khan.
However, their visit was interrupted when police detained them, citing violations of Section 144, a restriction imposed in Rawalpindi earlier this week ahead of a planned PTI rally.
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The police claimed that the leaders had gathered in a restricted area and were in violation of the curfew.
Aliya Hamza Malik, another member of the delegation, was present but was not arrested as she was standing at a distance from the group when the police took action.
Before their arrest, Ayub told reporters that the opposition leaders had come to meet Imran Khan to discuss PTI’s protest strategy and future political plans.
“We were simply exercising our legal right to meet with the PTI leader as permitted by the court,” he said.
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In a statement, PTI condemned the arrests, calling them “unjust” and politically motivated. The party claimed that the detention was a deliberate move to suppress opposition voices.
“The leaders were arrested for simply following the law and their constitutional right to meet with Imran Khan. We demand their immediate release,” PTI said in a statement.
The arrests have sparked outrage within PTI and its allies, further escalating tensions between the opposition and the government.
Critics have accused the authorities of using heavy-handed tactics to stifle political dissent and undermine democratic freedoms.
