Several high-ranking leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI), including the opposition leader of the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, and the prison of the sisters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, were briefly arrested and then released by the Rawalpindi police on Thursday near Adiala Jail, where the founder of PTI is being arrested.
The arrests occurred after a verbal confrontation at a police control point after the group was denied permission to meet with Khan.
Those celebrated included the opposition leader of the Punjab Ahmed Khan Bhachar assembly, the head of the Sunita Ittehad (sic) Hamid Raza Sunnita Council, and the sisters of Khan Aleema Khan, Uzma Khanum and Noreen Khanum, along with his cousin Qasim Khan.
According to reports, police officers showed arrest orders and transferred the group to a prison truck. “We will arrest them all,” said an officer, as he said, as Ayub told reporters: “They are arresting the opposition leader.”
The incident took place in the control point of Gorakhpur, where PTI supporters had gathered, singing slogans in protest.
A week earlier, there had been a similar shock outside the Adial prison between PTI workers and law personnel. Later, the Police freed people detained near Chakri’s exchange.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government denied imposing restrictions on meetings between Khan and its legal or political associates. PTI officials condemned arrests and warned about an additional public reaction if such measures continue.
