PTI's 'Jail Bharo' drive to kick off in Gujranwala today

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) "Jail Bharo Tehreek", the court arrest drive, will kick off in Gujranwala today (Sunday), with the leaders and workers expected to surrender themselves to the authorities, party's Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said. 

Taking to Twitter, Chaudhry said that the PTI leaders and workers will court arrest in Gujranwala, on the fourth day of the drive announced by PTI Chairman Imran Khan earlier this month. 

"In Lahore and Rawalpindi, over 200 workers are in different jails. These people have refused [to file] bail pleas," he said. 

The minister said that the police in Peshawar and Multan refused to arrest the workers.

The party's court arrest drive has entered its fourth day after demonstrations in Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Multan since its initiation on February 22. 

PTI Chairman Imran Khan had announced the "Jail Bharo Tehreek" earlier this month — in the wake of the coalition government's spree of arrests of key party leaders — after apparently running out of options to press the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government to stop it from “political victimisation”.

The movement, according to the PTI rationale, aims to counter the "attack on constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights" and the "economic meltdown" by the incumbent government".

To kickstart the movement on February 22, the party's senior leaders including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Azam Swati, along with party workers voluntarily surrendered themselves to the Lahore police.

So far, only around 100 people have been arrested; it should be noted that no leader and worker surrendered on the second day (Thursday).

In Peshawar alone, the police have so far registered names of nearly 300 leaders and workers who “voluntarily” surrendered themselves in the Roznamcha. Among these are Parvez Khattak, Asad Qaiser, Kamran Bangash and Irfan Saleem.

The Roznamcha has been registered at Hashnagri Police Station on the charges of violating Section 144, roadblocks, and provocative speeches against institutions and public office holders.

Marking the third day of the drive, PTI leaders Zulfi Bukhari and Fayyaz Ul Hassan Chohan “voluntarily” surrendered themselves to police from Committee Chowk, Rawalpindi.

Chohan along with 50 other workers was put into the prisoner van; however, these leaders and workers were then pushed out of the van at Mandra Road.

Meanwhile, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed and PTI leader Aamir Kayani, along with several other leaders, reached the selected site to surrender themselves to the authorities.

However, no arrests were made on Saturday as the leaders and workers gathered at Nawan Sheher Chowk, Multan to give in dispersed after hours of "waiting".

The party said that neither the "facilitators of the imported government nor Punjab police" came to arrest the workers who waited for four hours.