Journalist Hamid Mir, while talking to Aaj News on October 18, revealed that an unnamed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA is allegedly being subjected to harassment to get him to vote for the upcoming constitutional amendments in the parliament.
“A PTI MNA from Punjab called me from a different number. He is currently hiding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Not only was his house demolished, but also the women of his family were subjected to severe pressure,” revealed Hamid Mir.
However, Mir also stated, “This has been done so that they [PTI MNAs] show their detachment from PTI and vote for the constitutional amendment in favour of the government. However, despite oppression and repression, these MNAs are steadfast and will not vote for the government under any circumstances.”
Mir narrated that he received calls from an Indonesian number, but he did not pick up. Then he received a message from a UK number telling him the identity of who was calling.
Hamid Mir further stated that this PTI MNA belongs to Punjab, but currently, he is hiding in Peshawar. Mir said, “I asked him why he was calling me. He replied: I am calling you to make you a witness that I am resisting and won’t go to Islamabad to participate in any voting.”
On October 16, PTI member Meher Bano Qureshi, the daughter of former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, posted on X 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.”
“They have not been able to break us for the last year and a 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.
A few hours later, Qureshi posted a photo with the caption: “Alhamdulillah, she’s home. Thank you for your prayers and support!”
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.”
Furthermore, Chairman Balochistan National Party (BNP) Akhtar Mengal, who recently handed over his resignation as an MNA citing unheard grievances of Balochistan, 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?!!!”
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.”
