PTI vows nationwide protests after leaders arrested in late-night crackdown

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has pledged to persist with its anti-government campaign following a police crackdown at Parliament House, which saw several PTI leaders arrested late Monday night.

Speaking at a press conference in Peshawar on Tuesday, PTI leader Salman Akram Raja declared, "There should be no misunderstanding – the people have risen." Raja was accompanied by prominent party figures Omar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Azam Swati, and others, after concluding the party’s core committee meeting.

Raja accused certain elements of manipulating Pakistan’s political and democratic systems, stressing that PTI will not retreat in the face of attempts to silence the voice of the people.

He defended the speeches made by PTI leaders during the recent Islamabad rally, describing the event’s atmosphere as fundamentally different from regular political discourse.

The party expressed strong disapproval of the arrests of lawmakers and other officials, which they claimed were carried out under the guise of alleged violations of public gathering laws. Notably, several MNAs were detained in Islamabad as part of this crackdown.

At the start of the press briefing, journalists staged a protest over remarks made by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur against the press during a PTI rally in Islamabad.

Journalists demanded to know why Gandapur was absent, particularly after PTI had earlier promised he would apologise. Raja explained that Gandapur had to attend a session in the assembly.

During the press conference, Ayub, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, condemned the government for attempting to obstruct PTI’s Islamabad gathering. He accused the ruling coalition of levelling baseless accusations against the party and imprisoning its leaders.

Ayub referred to the arrests on September 9 as a "black day," and alleged that masked individuals had abducted several PTI leaders, including MNA Sher Afzal Marwat and lawyer Shoaib Shaheen.

Meanwhile, Qaiser announced that the party would continue both its street protests and its legal battles in court. He also called for the immediate release of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and other detained members.

Additionally, Qaiser urged for fresh elections, labelling the current government as illegitimate, and suggested filing contempt of court cases against the Islamabad police chief and commissioner for creating barriers to the rally.

The PTI’s core committee convened earlier at the CM House in Peshawar, with K-P Chief Minister Gandapur among those in attendance.

According to party insiders, the PTI has resolved to launch nationwide protests starting Friday, and PTI lawmakers will raise the issue of their leaders' arrests in the assembly.