Daily Times

Amid the ongoing crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders in the wake of former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest, party leaders Ali Muhammad Khan and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry have been arrested from Islamabad. The Islamabad police said in a statement on Thursday that the party leaders were taken into custody under Section 3 Maintenance Public Ordinance (MPO).

Ali Muhammad Khan was arrested as he was heading towards the Supreme Court, where the hearing against Imran Khan’s arrest was underway. The latest arrests came a day after PTI leaders Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry were taken into custody while Shah Mahmood Qureshi was detained earlier today under the same act. PTI leaders are being detained by law enforcers in a bid to contain the countrywide violent protests sparked by the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan. Earlier today, an Islamabad Police spokesperson confirmed that scores of PTI leaders, including Qureshi, Umar, Fawad, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Falak Naz Chitrali, Mussarat Jamshed Cheema, and Maleeka Bukhari were arrested. “All arrests were carried out after completing the legal requirements,” the spokesperson said, warning that more arrests are expected.

Qureshi, who is second-in-line to Khan, was arrested by the police in cases of riots and arsons in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police sources said. Former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Qasim Khan Suri, provincial minister Mobeen Khilji, and other PTI leaders have been booked for inciting violence in the province, according to an FIR lodged by the Bijli Road Police Station. The PTI leaders have been accused of damaging public and private property, blocking roads, and disrupting routine life by burning tyres in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan, according to the FIR.

Former PTI MNA Munawara Munir, while addressing a press conference, condemned the Balochistan government for using force against her party workers. She claimed that PTI workers were subjected to torture and force in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan. PTI leader Ali Afzal Sahi, who is son-in-law of Lahore High Court Chief Justice, was also arrested from Faisalabad Bar Room. Meanwhile, senior journalists Imran Riaz Khan and Aftab Iqbal were arrested by police. Journalist Imran Riaz Khan was arrested at Sialkot Airport for allegedly inciting violence during clashes between security forces and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan. Anchor and popular television host Aftab Iqbal was reportedly arrested from his farmhouse in Lahore. The daughter of Aftab Iqbal confirmed the news of his arrest on Twitter.

Both journalists are staunch supporters of Imran Khan and his policies and were very vocal in their support. PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Ejaz Chaudhry, and many more were also arrested by the police for allegedly inciting violence.