Rana says 'miscreants' to be arrested as PTI’s ‘Jail Bharo’ drive approaches

Interior minister says records of 'miscreants' to be maintained, activities mentioned in character certificates

ISLAMABAD:

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) "Jail Bharo" drive, which the party plans to commence from Lahore on Wednesday, was aimed at creating political instability in the country.

Chairing a meeting on law and order, he said that the PTI wanted to get media attention by creating drama through the movement.

"The miscreants should be exposed by presenting evidence of their wrongdoings before the masses," he said.

Patiricpatns of the meeting—which was attended by Secretary Interior Yusuf Naseem, home secretaries and inspectors general of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and others—gave a detailed briefing to the minister on law and order, especially in the wake of the "Jail Bharo" drive.

”جیل بھرو تحریک“ کے تناظر میں امن وامان کی صورتحال پر آج تفصیلی بریفنگ لی، ملک میں امن و امان کی صورتحال کو یقینی بنایا جائے گا اور قانون توڑنے والوں کو گرفتار کیا جائے گا، امن دشمنوں کا ریکارڈ رکھا جائے اور اسے ان کے کیریکٹر سرٹیفیکیٹ میں واضح کیا جائے گا۔

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— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@RanaSanaullahPK) February 21, 2023

The meeting decided that the miscreants would be arrested and the law and order would be ensured in the country at all costs. However, the arrest of women and poor workers would be avoided.

He said that the records of miscreants would be maintained and their activities would be mentioned in their character certificates.

The minister also lauded the IG Sindh and the provincial police force for their role in countering the recent terrorist attack in the province.

Read more: PTI threatens 'Jail Bharo Tehreek' if Punjab polls delayed

Earlier this month, the PTI chief had announced that his party leadership would soon start “courting arrests” in response to the government’s roughshod tactics to muzzle the opposition party through “politically motivated” cases.

“The treatment meted out to Sheikh Rashid and Fawad Chaudhry is in front of everyone. What happened to Arshad Sharif is also in front of everyone,” he continued. Those who “tortured us on May 25 [during the PTI long march last year] are imposed again”.

Imran alleged that his party leaders were being threatened with dire consequences, including threats to their families, and coerced to sign “fake statements”. “Our people are being arrested and made to sign fake statements,” he said.

“If they desire to arrest us, we will fulfil it through the ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’. “Don’t scare us with jails. When our movement starts, there will be no space left in jails,” he said. “It will break the idol of fear.”

Jail barracks emptied

Sources said that 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.

They said that, 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.

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.