PTI leadership, SIC chief released after brief detention at Adiala Jail

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) top leadership were released after being briefly detained by the Punjab Police outside Adiala Jail over violation of Section 144.

Several top leaders from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza were arrested by Punjab Police on Tuesday when they attempted to meet incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.

The arrested PTI leaders include Omar Ayub, former National Assembly (NA) speaker Asad Qaiser, Shibli Faraz Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, and SIC chief Hamid Raza.

Taking to Instagram, PTI wrote: "Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Asad Qaiser, Ahmed Bhachar, Sahibzada Hamid Raza have been arrested outside Adiala Jail, for simply exercising their right to meet with Imran Khan, as permitted by law.”

PTI leadership frequently meet with Imran Khan in prison to plan and coordinate their political activities. The SIC, led by Raza, is a key ally of PTI, and currently, PTI lawmakers are also listed as SIC members in the parliament.

Reacting to the arrest, PTI Central Information Secretary, Sheikh Waqas Akram said that a meeting was planned with PTI founder Imran Khan, for which key leaders including Shibli Faraz, Omar Ayub, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and Asad Qaiser had arrived at the jail.

However, according to Akram, the leadership was made to wait until 3 PM and was not allowed to meet Imran Khan.

When the leaders attempted to leave, they were removed from their vehicles and taken into custody. Akram claimed that the leaders—who included Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz, Opposition leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly—were forcibly arrested and dragged out of their cars.

In addition, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Chairman of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), was also taken into custody, as confirmed by Akram.

He condemned the actions as a clear example of fascism and called for the immediate release of all the arrested leaders.

Earlier in September this year, Islamabad police apprehended PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, MNA Sher Afzal Marwat, and several others outside the Parliament House.

They were arrested for allegedly violating laws related to peaceful assembly and public order during the party's rally in the federal capital. However, they were subsequently released.