Lahore: A Pakistani court on Saturday ordered the release of over 120 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. These people were detained in Punjab province after the violence that broke out after the arrest of Imran Khan on May 9. The Lahore High Court (LHC) directed the government to release 123 activists of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party without any further delay.
High Court Justice Anwarul Haq issued the order while hearing a petition filed by PTI leader Farooq Habib, seeking the release of detained party workers, according to a report in Pakistan’s daily Dawn. . These activists arrested from Faisalabad are currently lodged in different jails of Punjab province.
Pakistan has been rocked by unrest ever since the arrest of Imran Khan by paramilitary force Pakistan Rangers on May 9 in connection with a corruption case in the Islamabad High Court complex. For the first time in Pakistan’s history, protesters stormed the Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also set fire to the Corps Commander’s House (Jinnah House) in Lahore. According to the police, 10 people have died in these violent demonstrations in the country while Imran Khan’s party claims that 40 of its workers have been killed so far.
Significantly, law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 7,000 PTI workers across Pakistan, out of which 4,000 workers are from Punjab. Punjab’s Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said that police are currently on the lookout for over 500 women in about 138 cases related to the May 9 violence. Human rights groups have urged the government to take into account the human rights of more than 4,000 people arrested in the wake of the violent protests.
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