PTI lawmakers arrested by police not ‘masked men’, says Tarar

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, has refuted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) claims that its members were secretly arrested by masked individuals. He criticised the party for spreading baseless propaganda against state institutions, accusing them of deliberately dragging the military and intelligence agencies into the issue.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, Tarar firmly denied PTI’s allegations. “Their claim that masked men are arresting PTI members is completely unfounded. Videos of these arrests clearly show police officers in uniform carrying out their duties,” he said, adding that the PTI was fabricating stories to stoke fear. “PTI is suffering from a phobia, always trying to implicate the military or agencies in every situation.”

Tarar went on to criticise PTI’s past conduct, particularly its approach towards key national issues. “The founder of PTI (Imran Khan) refused to address critical topics like Kashmir and the economy. Instead, they aligned with [former ISI chief Gen] Faiz [Hameed] to file cases against opposition leaders. They celebrated when our leaders were jailed on false charges, but now, when the police are arresting their members in legitimate cases, they claim it’s an attack on democracy and blame state institutions.”

He further condemned PTI’s treatment of journalists, accusing the party of using inappropriate language and trolling anyone who disagreed with their narrative. “This party has consistently attacked journalists who criticised them. They’ve used derogatory language and subjected dissenters to online harassment,” Tarar said.

In response to a recent speech by PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur, the minister demanded an apology from the entire PTI leadership. “From their founder to every senior leader, they must publicly apologise for Gandapur’s remarks and disassociate themselves from such statements.”

Tarar also dismissed PTI’s claims that their members were arrested inside the parliament, stating that there is clear video evidence showing this was not the case.

“No PTI member was arrested from within parliament. The arrests were made at the gates, and we have video proof to support this,” he concluded.