Over 100 PTI workers jailed for 30 days

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that slightly above 100 people courted arrest so far in response to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan’s call for ‘Jail Bharo’ movement, who were being detained for 30 days.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said more than 80% of those arrested wanted their release but he insisted that those people would be lodged in jail away from major cities such as Rawalpindi and Lahore.

“There are a total of 100-125 people [courting arrest] in the ‘Jail Bharo’ movement but 80% of them wanted to be released,” the minister told the press conference. “First, distant jails will be filled, and after that the jails in Lahore and Rawalpindi,” he added.

Imran had announced plans for his ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ in protest against the government’s policies and to put pressure on the ruling coalition to announce elections. The movement started last week, with the arrest of some senior party leaders.

“All persons have been detained for 30 days. You wished to go to jail, so you have been sent there,” the minister told reporters. “We are putting you in jail so that you can acquaint yourselves with the conditions there,” he added mockingly.

So far, several petitions have been filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC), expressing fear that the detained PTI leaders and workers had been transported to “some unknown places” to “torture” them, and they might be implicated in false cases.

Without referring to the sub judice matter, Rana Sanaullah said: “We hold the judiciary in utmost respect and regard.” He added that any attempt to “weaken” the judiciary would “increase the difficulties of the country”.

However, the minister stressed that “bench-fixing allegations” – a reference to the larger Supreme Court bench hearing a suo motu notice case about the provincial elections – must be investigated.

In reference to the leaks of controversial audios – purportedly attributed to former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, the minister urged the apex court to take suo motu notice of the alleged “close ties that Elahi maintains with a Supreme Court judge”.

The minister castigated the PTI chairman Imran Khan, dubbing him a “trouble-maker, who never did anything for the betterment of the country, not even once”. He added that Imran was “spreading instability in the country”.

“First Imran said he was bringing a sea of people to Islamabad, then he said he was going to fill the jails,” the minister said. “But now the people know him for what he is. His ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ has become a big walk of shame movement.”

The minister stressed that his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) position remained very strong in Punjab. “If we change candidates, we can win seats,” he said in response to a question about the election results.