Rawalpindi / Lahore:
Tuesday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) organized demonstrations on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the detention of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in the midst of repression and roadblocks.
The local administration in Rawalpindi, however, has largely succeeded in preventing the leaders of the PTI and the opposition from holding a demonstration outside of Adiala prison and only a handful of people could get closer to the establishment where Imran was shifted in September 2023 and has been detained since.
The demonstrations took place in response to a call from Imran Khan himself, which, through the party canals, had urged peaceful resistance to what it called the erosion of democratic standards.
“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 rallies on a national scale, described by the PTI as part of a national movement to restore democracy. The demonstrations have caused significant participation rates despite radical security measures, mass arrests and strong police repression, in particular Punjab.
The most intense repression took place in Punjab, where the police moved quickly to prevent large assemblies. In Lahore, the police launched night raids, holding dozens of PTI workers.
While the police claimed approximately 30 arrests for illegal assembly and road blockages, PTI officials insisted that the actual number was much higher, estimating at least 300 detentions, including activists taken over during the night.
PTI Punjab’s media chief Shayan Bashir said that more than 200 separate raids had been made before the demonstrations. Many of the detained people were released after signing surety commitments.
According to Reuters, nearly 120 arrests were carried out during the raids overnight and on Tuesday, the rest occurring during demonstrations in Lahore.
“Imran Khan Free!” Chanted around 200 supporters of his Pakistani party Tehreek-e-insaf outside a courthouse in Lahore, while small groups organized demonstrations across the city.
Inspector Deputy General of the Police Faisal Kamran told Reuters that nearly three dozen activists trying to block roads were among the arrested. Party spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said that more than 200 activists had only been arrested in Lahore.
Among those arrested were several members in office of the Punjab Assembly. The deputy chief of the Moin Qureshi opposition was placed in police custody during a demonstration, with Mpas Farrukh Javed Moon, Col (Retd) ShoaiB Amir, Nadeem Sadiq Dogar, Khawaja Salahuddin, Aminullah Khan and Iqbal Khattak.
PTI officials said the police used batons to attack legislator vehicles, broken windows and attacked members during repression.
The video sequences of the chief of the 80 -year -old party Rehana Dar being forcibly detained have aroused the condemnation of all the parties and have become viral on social networks. The PTI labeled the act “a shameful view” and accused the government of Punjab of using “fascist tactics” to crush dissent.
The authorities invoked article 144 to prohibit public gatherings in the main urban centers, including Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Access to Adiala prison has been restricted, with strong security and road closings and the call of party leaders to a demonstration near the prison turned out to be ineffective.
Only Senator Humayun Mohmand, the MNA Maulana Naseem Ali Shah and the Mna Sajid Khan Mohmand reached the Dahgal control point on Adiala Road, where the police prevented them from going further.
Among the six leaders planned to meet the founder of the PTI, only the spokesperson for the Niazullah Niazi party managed to reach door 5 of the prison, but the police immediately asked him to leave.
The three Sisters of Imran also tried to visit him via the exchange of chakri on the highway, but were arrested by a strong police presence to head towards Adiala prison. Two lawyers, Shamsa Kayani and Owais Younis, reached Gorakhpur’s checkpoint, but were also prohibited from moving forward.
Meanwhile, Party leaders Salman Akram Raja, Latif Khosa and Mehmood Khan Achakzai were arrested at a checkpoint near a private housing company near Adiala Road.
Some PTI workers gathered at the Dahgal control point and sang slogans, but the PTI failed to set up a significant presence in Rawalpindi or near Adiala prison, because local leaders and workers have largely absent due to the fear of arrests.
In Islamabad, PTI deputies organized a demonstration before the Parliament. The demonstration was led by Whip Aamir Dogar. Before PTI legislators could leave for Adiala prison, a heavy police quota surrounded by parliament and its main door was closed.
The members of the PTI held a press conference within Parliament, during which they strongly criticized the arrest of the founder of the PTI, the dominant political situation and the conduct of public institutions.
Despite a repression, however, the demonstrations took place in several cities and districts of Punjab, notably Siackot, Okara, Kasur, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali, Mandi Bahauddin, Layy, Toba Tek Singh, Khanewal and Narowal.
In Lahore, large crowds gathered along Canal Road, led by the leaders of PTI Chaudhry Asghar Gujjar, Malik Usman Hamza Awan and Hafiz Zeeshan Rasheed. In Rawalpindi, PTI youth activists released a rally under the direction of Raja Saqib Ali and Shuja Abbasi.
In Okara, a major rally was organized by the president of District Chaudhry Saleem Sadiq and the secretary general Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Tariq, while in Kasur, Sardar Dawood Aslam Dogar led demonstrations calling for the release of Khan.
In other cities, the PTI mobilized through local offices of the parties, attracting crowds which included groups of young people, lawyers and unions. In Toba Tek Singh, the PTI chief organizer, Aliya Hamza, called citizens and professionals in the right to rally. Reports indicate that her vehicle had been attacked by the police as she was trying to join a demonstration.
In Mandi Bahauddin, Begum Kausar Muhammad Khan Bhatti and Liaqat Ali Bhatti led a rally, while the PTI youth wing of Layy held a demonstration at Chowk Azam. In Narowal, a motorcycle rally of the work wing requested the release of Khan.
The PTI legal wing was also mobilized. Lawyers organized demonstrations outside the High Court of Lahore and other judicial places, declaring allegiance to Khan and promising legal assistance for arrested activists.
According to the president of Lahore of the Insaf legal forum, Malik Shujaat Jandran, three teams were posted before key courts of the city to provide support for the deposit.
Over the day, the tensions between the police and the demonstrators continued to intensify. PTI officials accused the police of harassing their media team and getting a descent into the Shayan Bashir residence and office.
The party president, the lawyer, Gohar Ali Khan, reiterated that the demonstrations were on the direct instructions of Imran Khan and would continue until his release. “We will not rest before obtaining the release of the former Prime Minister,” he said.
The central secretary of central information, Sheikh Waqas Akram, also published a strongly bodily declaration, condemning the hybrid regime for having triggered a reign of terror by deploying “Gullu Butts” against peaceful demonstrators.
He also praised the courage of the Pakistanis, “who increased nationally in response to the call of their chief wrongly, defying the brutal repression of the regime and unprecedented state barbarism which has sealed new depths of reparation”.
With Reuters entrance
