Daily Times

Several top PTI leaders were taken into custody on Tuesday from outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for violating Section 144 but were released shortly afterwards after being issued a warning, police said.

Earlier, the PTI had said that several of its leaders were arrested from outside the Adiala Jail when they went to meet their incarcerated leader, Imran Khan, terming the move “absolutely shameful.”

“Absolutely shameful! Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Asad Qaiser, Ahmed Bhachar, Sahibzada Hamid Raza have been arrested outside Adiala Jail, for simply exercising their right to meet with Imran Khan, as permitted by law,” the PTI said in a post on X.

“This should alarm anyone who values the rule of law, as it shows how basic freedoms are being trampled upon,” it added. Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Malik Ahmed Bhachar and ally Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza were also among those arrested, the party said.

A video shared by the PTI showed Ayub being seated in the backseat of a white Toyota Corolla vehicle amid high security, while Raza was also being pulled away by uniformed personnel. A police van could also be seen parked on the road’s opposite side. In another post on X, the PTI said the arrests highlighted the “PML-N government’s blatant misuse of power”, saying it was aimed at “silencing PTI leaders and anyone standing with Imran Khan”.