Rawalpindi/Lahore:
The Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) organized protests throughout the country to commemorate the second anniversary of the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, amid repressions and obstacles.
However, the local administration in Rawalpindi managed to prevent PTI and opposition leaders from maintaining a protest outside the Adiala prison and only a handful of people could approach the installation where Imran was transferred in September 2023 and has been arrested since then.
The protests remained in response to a call from Imran Khan himself, who, through the channels of the party, had urged the peaceful resistance to what he called the erosion of democratic norms.
“The movement that begins on August 5 will continue until democracy is restored in its true spirit,” reads a message attributed to the former prime minister.
In response to the call, PTI supporters organized demonstrations and demonstrations throughout the country, described by the PTI as part of a national movement to restore democracy. The protests caused considerable participation despite radical security measures, mass arrests and a heavy police repression, particularly in Punjab.
The most intense repression developed in Punjab, where the police moved quickly to avoid large assemblies. In Lahore, the police launched raids during the night, stopping dozens of PTI workers.
While the police claimed about 30 arrests for the illegal assembly and road blockages, PTI officials insisted that the real number was significantly higher, estimating at least 300 arrests, including activists collected during the night.
The head of the media of PTI Punjab, Shayan Bashir, said that more than 200 separate incursions were carried out before the demonstrations. According to reports, many of the detainees were released after signing bail companies.
According to Reuters, almost 120 arrests were made during the raids during the night and early Tuesday, and the rest occurs during the protests in Lahore.
“Free Imran Khan!” He sang around 200 supporters of his party of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf outside a Lahore court, while the smallest groups organized protests throughout the city.
The deputy inspector of the Faisal Kamran police told Reuters that almost three dozen activists who tried to block the roads were among those arrested. The spokesman for the game, Zulfikar Bukhari, said that more than 200 activists were arrested only in Lahore.
Among those arrested were several members of the Punjab Assembly. The deputy leader of the opposition, Moin Qureshi, was arrested during a protest, along with MPA Farrukh Javed Moon, Col (Retd) Shoaib Amir, Nadeem Sadiq Dogar, Khawaja Salahuddin, Aminullah Khan and Iqbal Khattak.
PTI officials said the police used canes to attack the legislators’ vehicles, broke windows and assaulted the members during the repression.
The video images of the 80 -year -old party leader, renana, were arrested by force they took the condemnation of all the lines of the party and became viral on social networks. The PTI described the law “a shameful view” and accused the Punjab government of using “fascist tactics” to crush the dissent.
The authorities invoked section 144 to prohibit public meetings in key urban centers, including Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Access to Adiala prison was restricted, with strong safety and road closures in place and the call of party leaders to a protest near the prison was ineffective.
Only Senator Humayun Mohmand, Mna Mauula Naseem Ali Shah and Mna Sajid Khan Mohmand reached the Dahgal control point in Adiala Road, where the police prevented them from going further.
Among the six leaders scheduled to meet with the founder of PTI, only the spokesman of the Niazullah Niazi party managed to reach the door 5 of the prison, but the police immediately told him to leave.
Imran’s three sisters also tried to visit him through Chakri’s exchange on the highway, but were arrested for a strong police presence to proceed towards Adiala’s prison. Two lawyers, Shamssa Kayani and Owais Younis, reached the control point of Gorakhpur, but they were also forbidden to advance.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Salman Akram Raja, Latif Khosa and Mehmood Khan Achakzai party were arrested at a control point near a private housing society near Adiala Road.
A few PTI workers gathered at the control point of Dahgal and sang slogans, but the PTI could not mount any significant presence in Rawalpindi or near the Adiala prison, since the leaders and local workers remained largely absent due to fear of arrests.
In Islamabad, the members of the PTI Parliament organized a protest outside the house of Parliament. The demonstration was directed by Chief Whip Aamir Dogar. Before PTI legislators could go to Adiala prison, a heavy police contingent surrounded the house of Parliament and its main door was closed.
PTI members held a press conference within the Chamber of Parliament, during which they firmly criticized the arrest of the founder of PTI, the prevailing political situation and the conduct of state institutions.
However, despite repression, the demonstrations took place in multiple cities and districts of Punjab, including Sialkot, Okara, Kasur, Muzaffarhrh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali, Mandi Bahauddin, Layyah, Toba Tek Singh, Khanewal and Narowal.
In Lahore, great crowds gathered along Channel Road, led by the leaders of PTI Chaudhry Asghar Gujjar, Malik Usman Hamza Awan and Hafiz Zeeshan Rasheed. In Rawalpindi, PTI youth activists took out a demonstration under the raja leadership Saqib Ali and Shuja Abbasi.
In Okara, the president of the Chaudhry Salem Sadiq district, and Secretary General Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Tariq, while they were in Kasur, Sardar Dawood Aslam Dogar, general secretary, led demonstrations, led demonstrations that requested Khan’s liberation.
In other cities, PTI mobilized through local party offices, attracting crowds that included youth groups, lawyers and unions. In Toba Tek Singh, the main organizer of PTI Aliya Hamza asked citizens and legal professionals to meet. The reports indicated that his vehicle was attacked by the police while trying to join a protest.
In Mandi Bahauddin, Begm Kausar Muhammad Khan Bhatti and Liaqat Ali Bhatti led a demonstration, while the youth wing of Layyah maintained a protest in Chowk Azam. In Nanowal, a work -wing motorcycles rally demanded the release of Khan.
The legal wing of the PTI was also mobilized. The lawyers organized protests outside the Superior Court of Lahore and other judicial places, declaring Khan loyalty and promising legal assistance for arrested activists.
According to Lahore president of the INSAF Legal Forum, Malik Shujaat Jandran, three teams were parked in the key courts of the entire city to provide support for bail.
As the day was developed, the tensions between the application of the law and the protesters continued to increase. PTI officials accused the police of harassing their media team and assaulting the residence and office of Shayan Bashir.
The president of the party, the lawyer Gohar Ali Khan, reiterated that the protests were arrested in the direct instructions of Imran Khan and would continue until his release. “We will not rest until ensuring the liberation of the former prime minister,” he said.
PTI’s Central Information Secretary, Sheikh Waqas Akram, also issued a strongly written statement, condemning the hybrid regime for unleashing a reign of terror through the deployment of “Gullu butts” against peaceful protesters.
He also greeted the courage of the Pakistani, “who have risen throughout the country in response to the call of their incorrectly imprisoned leader, challenging the brutal repression of the unprecedented regime and state barbarism that has placed new depths of repression.”
With Reuters contribution
