Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s ‘Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’ party has been launched a crackdown by the government amid increasing political turmoil in the country following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in a corruption case. Two senior leaders have been arrested on Friday. Shirin Mazari, the former federal minister for human rights, was arrested at her home. Mazari’s daughter Iman Hazir-Mazari shared a video on Twitter in which some men in plain clothes are seen entering the former minister’s house to arrest him. Iman-Hajir Mazari is a lawyer.
Later, another video was shared on Twitter in which some women officers are seen escorting the former minister from his house. While being taken in a police vehicle, Mazari flashed the victory sign and said, “Victory for democracy”. He condemned the government and said that dictatorship will not be tolerated. Shortly before posting the video, Mazari’s daughter had tweeted that around 50 armed policemen had entered her house.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wrote on Twitter, “Our SVP Dr. Shireen Mazari was kidnapped in this difficult time. Police entered their house with weapons, how low they have stooped. Mazari’s arrest comes after the arrest of several other PTI leaders, including Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhary, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ali Mohammad Khan and MP Ejaz Chaudhary. All these leaders, except Khan, were arrested under three sections of Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). According to a PTI statement, former Punjab health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid has also been arrested. PTI leader Andaleeb Abbas said the former minister was in hiding to avoid arrest.
Police had detained close family members of her two days ago, but they were released after her husband’s health deteriorated. His brother-in-law is still in police custody. Several cases have been registered against Yasmin, including the attack on the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence. Imran Khan (70) was arrested on Tuesday from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and an accountability court on Wednesday handed him over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on eight-day remand in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. Violent protests broke out across Pakistan after Imran Khan’s arrest and the government had to deploy the army in Islamabad as well as in the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Some people have also died in the violence during the demonstrations.
In a major relief to Khan on Thursday, the Supreme Court termed his arrest as “illegal” and ordered his immediate release. Earlier, Khan was produced before it on the directions of the apex court. In the Supreme Court, a three-member bench of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah on Thursday decided to release former Prime Minister Khan, hearing a petition filed against the Islamabad High Court validating his arrest narrated while doing
Hearing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s plea against his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, the bench expressed displeasure over the manner in which he was detained by paramilitary Rangers at the Islamabad High Court premises And ordered NAB to produce them. Meanwhile, the United Nations has appealed to Pakistan’s security forces to exercise restraint while Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi expressed grief over the whole incident.
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