Islamabad police on Monday night initiated a crackdown against the senior leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), detaining several of them just a day after the party staged a rally on the outskirts of the federal capital.
Initially, police arrested PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan and MNAs Sher Afzal Marwat and Zubair Khan, as well as lawyer Shoaib Shaheen, who had contested the Feb. 8 general elections from Islamabad. Marwat and Gohar were taken into custody as they were leaving Parliament House after Monday’s session of the Lower House, while Shaheen was arrested from his office in G-9.
Additionally, several PTI lawmakers who were sheltering in Parliament House to avoid arrest after the conclusion of the session were also taken into custody. These included Zain Qureshi, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Naseemur Rehman, and Zubair Khan. According to local media, the arrests were conducted after initially turning off power to Parliament House and then raiding the premises to secure custody of the accused.
Reportedly, the FIR also includes the names of MNA Zartaj Gul and Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub, but they left Parliament prior to the commencement of the arrests. Sources have claimed several leaders of the PTI from Punjab have also been tapped for arrest, but their identities remain unclear.
All detained PTI leaders have reportedly been taken into custody for violating the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024, as well as clashing with police during the rally. The new law carries prison terms of up to three years for anyone found guilty of offense under it.
The legality of the parliamentarians’ arrest from Parliament House remains unclear, as under a parliamentary rule, police have to inform the National Assembly speaker prior to arresting any MNA.
As reports spread of the arrests, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa spokesman Barrister Saif appeared on media alleging Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had gone silent and expressed fears he had been arrested as well. However, subsequent media reports claimed he was holed up in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa House and was free. Early on Tuesday morning, reports emerged he had left the premises and departed for Peshawar.
Condemning the arrests as a betrayal of democracy on X, formerly Twitter, the PTI accused the government of “illegally arresting and abducting” the PTI’s MNAs from Parliament.