19 detained across city

Protests erupt against PTI chief’s arrest in Toshakhana case

KARACHI/HYDERABAD:

At least 19 people were detained by the police during protests held against the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman in different parts of the city on Saturday.

Police and Rangers were on high alert while the PTI Karachi headquarters, Insaf House near Sharae Faisal, was cordoned off by law enforcement agencies.

The South zone SSP Asad Raza said that PTI activists held a protest outside Karachi Press Club. The police arrested six people and shifted them to the Artillery Maidan police station and there will be legal action against them.

PTI activists also held protests on two places in district Malir where police arrested 11 protesters and shifted them to the police station. According to the SSP Malir Hasan Sardar five activists arrested from Sharafi Goth and six from Quaidabad.

PTI activists also protested in North Nazim Abad block K. The police arrested three activists of PTI from there. SSP Central Maroof Usman said that the police registering a case against arrested activists of PTI.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Karachi President Khurrum Sher Zaman in a statement strongly condemned the arrest and sentence of PTI chairman.

The arrest of a former prime minister on the basis of charges made without a fair trial violates basic principles of justice and the rule of law. Zaman appealed to all PTI Karachi workers and supporters to conduct peaceful protests and remain steadfast in the face of this injustice.

The hastiness and the way the trial was conducted by the trial judge raise significant doubts about the impartiality and transparency of the legal proceedings.

The charges against PTI chairman are politically motivated and a result of a coordinated effort to keep him out of the upcoming general election.

PTI Karachi demands the court to immediately give bail to Imran Khan and allow him to stand for election, he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Hyderabad chapter's leaders have denounced the raids and arrests of the PTI's workers.

At a press conference in Hyderabad, Advocate Ali Palh and Advocate Noorul Haq Qureshi claimed that the police raided the residence of three local leaders of PTI in Hyderabad while a senior leader, Mustansar Billah, was rounded up from outside the Hyderabad Press Club. Palh alleged that the PTI is being pushed against the wall so that the party can be stopped from taking part in the elections.

Qureshi said though PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been convicted in Toshakhana case, they have not lost hope in the courts of law.

The Hyderabad police had taken security measures in view of Khan's expected arrest. Policemen were deployed outside the press club and at important intersections. The Cantt police detained Billah outside the club but he was released a few hours later.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2023.