Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Meher Bano Qureshi, the daughter of former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, posted on X (formerly Twitter) late at night on October 16 that her sister-in-law, the wife of PTI MNA Zain Qureshi, was abducted from near their home by “masked men in plain clothes and multiple cars.”
A few hours later, Qureshi posted a photo with the caption: “Alhamdulillah, she’s home. Thank you for your prayers and support!”
“They have not been able to break us for the last year and half despite all kinds of threats and are now resorting to such low level tactics. Mine & my family’s faith in Allah is unbreakable. He will see us & Pakistan through this fascism,” she wrote.
However, Meher Bano Qureshi is not the only one to complain about the sudden ‘disappearance’ and ‘abduction’ of lawmakers and their family members.
This disturbing trend was first revealed by Chairman Balochistan National Party (BNP) Akhtar Mengal, who recently handed over his resignation as an MNA, citing unheard grievances of Balochistan when he took to X (formerly Twitter) to write that his lodges in Islamabad had been raided.
Mengal also wrote: “My party Senator Naseema Ehsan is confined to her apartment, and her son has been abducted. Meanwhile, my party’s other Senator Qasim Roonjo, who went for his dialysis at 8 a.m. in Islamabad, has been untraceable along with his son since then. Is this what democracy looks like?!!!”
Interestingly, Akhtar Mengal posted about the alleged abduction of his party senators around the same time PTI’s Meher Bano Qureshi tweeted about the short ‘disappearance’ of her sister-in-law.
In a separate post, the PTI member also revealed on X: “She was taken literally yards away from interior minister’s @MohsinnaqviC42 house who happens to be our neighbour.”
Meanwhile, Akhtar Mengal strongly condemned the alleged harassment of his party senators, saying, “After Benazir Bhutto’s and Nawaz Sharif’s Charter of Democracy we now have the Zardari-Sharif Crater of Democracy. Indeed democracy is the best revenge and ofcourse vote ko bahut izzat do.”
Mengal also showed solidarity with PTI’s Meher Bano Qureshi, writing, “All boundaries have been breached to ensure the votes get pushed through. It’s a déjà vu of Musharaf’s dictatorship. Shameful act.”
The BNP leader warned last week that “undemocratic methods” were being employed to enforce the upcoming constitutional amendments.
Meanwhile, netizens also dived into what could be the reason behind the disturbing trend. Journalist Maria Memon quoted Qureshi’s post with a caption: “The so-called “political consensus” is being achieved at a very heavy cost.”
Columnist Arifa Noor posted: “Nearly every other day, there are incidents that leave one speechless.”
Another X user posted, “Picking up someone’s wife who is not even involved in politics is lowest of low. These actions are eroding any remaining trust or confidence in the state. Let sense prevail; don’t compromise your entire humanity over short-term political benefit.”
PTI has been campaigning and protesting against the government’s proposed 26th constitutional amendment, which aims to reform the judiciary, amongst other things.
The coalition government remained unsuccessful last month when it tried to pass the constitutional package, but since then it has been aggressively championed, in a campaign led by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, to get the required votes.
