Several leaders and workers belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including prominent figures such as Latif Khosa and Salman Akram Raja, were apprehended by authorities during widespread demonstrations across various cities in Pakistan. The protests, organized by the erstwhile ruling party on Sunday, were in response to alleged rigging in the recently held general elections on February 8.
PTI supporters and activists took to the streets in nearly every corner of the country, staging rallies and protests in cities like Rawalpindi, Karachi, Kandhkot, Tank, and others. The demonstrations were fueled by PTI’s assertions of election result manipulation and the purported theft of the party’s mandate.
In Lahore, a heavy police presence was deployed, resulting in the arrest of several PTI workers at GPO Chowk. Notably, PTI-backed Punjab Assembly lawmakers Hafiz Farhat Abbas and Mian Haroon Akbar were among those detained. Furthermore, PTI leaders Latif Khosa and Salman Akram Raja faced arrest in the city.
Similar scenes unfolded in Multan, where Zahid Hashmi and Qasim Hashmi, both holding PTI tickets, were taken into custody. Meanwhile, in Karachi, security forces were stationed outside the Korangi Deputy Commissioner’s office in anticipation of PTI protests.
In Rawalpindi, tensions escalated as PTI demonstrators clashed with paramilitary forces, following the prevention of a rally led by Seemabia Tahir from entering the city via the Khanna Pul route. Though some PTI workers were apprehended, Tahir managed to secure their release later on.
Meanwhile, protests erupted in various other cities including Faisalabad, Vehari, Khushab, Islamabad, Multan, and Gujranwala.
Addressing a mass rally in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur accused conspirators of attempting to overthrow their government in 2022. He demanded a judicial commission, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, to investigate alleged electoral malpractice.
“According to Form 45s, the PTI has won the general elections”, the KP chief minister claimed and demanded a judicial commission to probe the result tempering.
Moving on to the reserved seats dilemma, Gandapur said that distributing PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) reserved seats for minorities and women among other political parties was illegal and unconstitutional.
Despite the arrests and legal challenges, PTI Senator Faisal Javed expressed confidence in the party’s resilience and the eventual release of its incarcerated founder, Imran Khan.
PTI Senator Faisal Javed lauded the sacrifices and services of his party’s incarcerated founder and said: “Imran Khan did not disappoint the nation and the party.”
The weather would change soon and Khan would be released, he hoped.
“The nation has rejected “Form 47 government,” the PTI leader said and demanded that public mandate should be restored.
