Responding to Imran Khan's call, the PTI staged protest demonstrations nationwide on Sunday against alleged manipulation of the February 8 general elections.
However, in Punjab, where a PML-N-led coalition government recently assumed power, these protests were met with heavy-handed measures, resulting in the detention of scores of PTI workers and leaders, including Sardar Latif Khosa and Salman Akram Raja.
The Punjab Police rounded up Khosa, one of the PTI’s top legal minds, while he was leading a rally towards the city’s Mall Road. Raja, also a senior lawyer, was apprehended along with Advocate Muhammad Mehr Salim during a separate crackdown. PTI-backed MPA Hafiz Farhat Abbas was also arrested while participating in a demonstration against alleged election irregularities.
Similar arrests were also reported in other cities, including Gujranwala and Multan, where PTI leaders Mian Tariq Mehmood, Moin Riaz Qureshi, and Malik Adnan Dogar were detained during protests.
Talking to the media, Khosa’s sons Balakh Sher Khosa and Shehbaz Khosa later condemned the arrests while stating that they were unaware of their father’s whereabouts.
The PTI, via its official channels, reiterated its stance against what it termed "corrupt individuals" assuming leadership roles against the public's will. The party criticized the arrest of party leaders, condemning what it viewed as an attempt by the government to stifle dissent. The official statement urged an end to what it described as the "policy of arresting people for merely protesting."
Responding to the call from the party's founder, PTI members mobilized nationwide, staging demonstrations in various cities including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, and Dipalpur. In the federal capital, the PTI held a rally near the National Press Club.
Addressing the participants, PTI leader Sheer Afzal Marwat said the party will hold a historic rally in Islamabad on March 23. “We will request the deputy commissioner for permission, otherwise, we will seek permission from the court,” he said. He urged the people to come out in support of Imran Khan and reclaim the stolen mandate.
Addressing Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, he said: “You are playing a game of deception with the people of this country. However, the people will hold you accountable.” Marwat also condemned the arrests of PTI workers and leaders as "deplorable and intolerable," urging the Punjab authorities to respect the right to peaceful protest.
On the PTI's call, protest demonstrations were also held in various areas of Karachi, including Malir, Qayyumabad, Korangi, Sher Shah, Groomandar, Nazimabad, Lyari, and Kiamari.
Addressing various gatherings, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh accused the people sitting in assemblies of stealing the PTI’s mandate. Sheikh claimed that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja facilitated this theft and therefore he should be tried for high treason.
He further added, "Our workers are being arrested even now in Lahore. Our mandate is being attacked, and the entire nation is protesting against it." He said the PTI will fight until Imran Khan's release as he announced a massive public gathering in Karachi immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr for the release of Imran.
"We will announce the date of a massive public gathering in Karachi in the first week after Eid,” he said.
The PTI also staged a protest in Sindh’s second largest city, Hyderabad. Dr Mastanullah, Faisal Mughal Advocate, and others led the protests in front of the Hyderabad Press Club.
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS IN ISLAMABAD, KARACHI & HYDERABAD
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