Islamabad, Pakistan – After a massive display of strength organized by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf around Islamabad, law enforcement agencies had finally cracked down, which concluded with the arrests of several senior PTI leaders. Police arrested them in the night of Monday – central PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, Waziristan lawmaker Zubair Khan and lawyer Shoaib Shaheen from different city locations.
Top PTI Leaders Arrested
Mr Gohar, the barrister, and Sher Afzal Marwat were separately taken away from outside Parliament House as they were coming out after attending a session. A contingent of police whisked them away straightaway in their vehicles. Shoaib Shaheen was arrested during a raid at his office located at G-9, while his staffers resisted the move but were also taken into custody.PTI Leaders Take Refuge in Parliament
Other PTI leaders, including Zain Qureshi, Zartaj Gul, Omer Ayub, Sheikh Waqas Akram, and Seemabia Tahir, have also escaped to Parliament House for shelter as they too are afraid of being taken into custody. As per the police, over a dozen names in the list have been prepared for further detentions. Since Tuesday night, police contingents have been deployed at Constitutional Avenue and every important exit point in Islamabad to choke routes towards PTI leaders trying to escape from the city.Legal Charges and Sealed FIRs
Three separate cases had been registered at the Sangjani and Noon police stations against PTI supporters and leaders. One related to a violation of the NOC issued for the rally and another concerned an attack by a PTI mob on a police contingent. The FIRs were sealed briefly with the intention of scuttling the efforts by PTI leaders to file pre-arrest bails; however, once the documents were unsealed, police moved in.Whereabouts of Chief Minister Gandapur Unknown
The whereabouts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur remain unknown as the operation is underway. Initial reports had suggested a house arrest plan for Mr Gandapur, and security personnel were deployed outside KP House in Islamabad. He had called Barrister Mohammad Saif and showed apprehension that he had not contacted any provincial leadership since he left for a meeting in Islamabad. His mobile phone is reportedly switched off, leading to fears that he may already be in custody .PTI Condemns Crackdown
Conversely, PTI slammed the arrests as an attack on democracy. The party termed the government’s actions “illegal arrest and abductions” of PTI’s elected members of parliament directly from the premises of Parliament in its statement on X. PTI also linked the crackdown to its recent power show at Sangjani.
The police added that more PTI leaders would be arrested by Tuesday morning in a bid to further subdue the opposition.