Jail barracks emptied as PTI’s ‘Jail Bharo’ drive approaches

Party sources say initially workers will court arrest on February 24

RAWALPINDI:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Rawalpindi chapter has completed all the preparations to give their arrests to the authorities on Friday, February 24, as part of the party chief Imran Khan’s court arrest drive (Jail Bharo Tehreek).

Sources said the Adiala Jail has a capacity of 2,700 inmates whereas 6,494 prisoners are currently confined in the prison with a daily arrival and release of about 50 to 70 prisoners.

According to sources, due to the expected arrests, one barrack in the Adiala Jail has been immediately cleaned and vacated and its inmates have been shifted to other barracks while dozens of prisoners have been shifted to the prisons in other districts including Chakwal, Jhelum and Attock.

Emergency funds have also been released to the jail administration for newly arriving inmates.

In the first phase of the PTI’s court arrest campaign, 100 party workers from Rawalpindi will give their voluntary arrests. Punjab Assembly’s former deputy speaker Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi is leading these preparations.

Sources said the candidates participating in the by-elections will not give their arrests in the first phase.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen have also offered to give arrests due to which the list of arrestees is expected to change on Tuesday [today].

The venue for giving the arrests has not been finalised yet. PTI’s former federal parliamentary secretary Sheikh Rashid Shafiq says that the central leadership has formed a committee in this regard.

He said the committee may finalise the proposal to give arrests at Raja Bazar, Fawara Chowk, Committee Chowk or Liaquat Bagh Chowk. He added that the names of the activists who would give the arrests have been kept confidential.

On the other hand, the police have not yet received any directives regarding whether to arrest the PTI workers or not.

According to political sources, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have advised the government not to arrest the PTI workers.

A faction of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is also against making arrests. However, the party’s central chief organiser is an active supporter of the arrests.

When contacted, sources in both the police and the deputy commissioner’s office told The Express Tribune that no order was received regarding whether or not to arrest those who would give the arrests.

On the other hand, sources in the Adiala Jail told The Express Tribune that the capacity of around 300 new prisoners has been made in the jail. “Funds for their food and other expenses have also been received,” they said and added that further decisions will be made according to the circumstances.

PTI city president Mian Imran Hayat said: “If our workers and leaders are not arrested, they will stage a sit-in on the said place and the traffic will be blocked.”

Meanwhile, a proposal has also been submitted to the government to arrest those who submit arrests to the police on the spot and release them after two or three hours.

Similarly, another proposal to arrest the most active workers and release others is also under consideration. A final decision about this will be taken in a special meeting on Tuesday [today].

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2023.