PTI stages protests against poll ‘rigging’ as leaders, workers held in several cities

The police on Sunday apprehended a number of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and leaders, including Latif Khosa and Salman Akram Raja, amid the protests in different cities against the alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections.

PTI supporters and activists today took to streets almost across the country with rallies being held in Rawalpindi along with protests in Karachi, Kandhkot, Tank and other cities, following the Imran Khan-founded party's call for demonstrations against “manipulation of election results and stealing” of the PTI’s mandate in the recent elections.

In Lahore, police arrested several protesting PTI workers from GPO Chowk as authorities deployed a heavy contingent of police on the city’s Mall Road and other areas. During the protests, PTI-backed Punjab Assembly lawmakers Hafiz Farhat Abbas and Mian Haroon Akbar were also arrested by the police. PTI leaders Latif Khosa and Salman Akram Raja were also arrested in Lahore.

PTI ticket holders and senior politician Javed Hashmi's son-in-law and grandson — Zahid Hashmi and Qasim Hashmi — were arrested in Multan.

Whereas in Karachi, police and Sindh Rangers personnel have been deployed in front of the Korangi Deputy Commissioner's office in anticipation of protest by PTI workers.

In Rawalpindi, PTI workers and the paramilitary forces came face to face after a demonstration rally led by Seemabia Tahir was prevented from entering the city via the Khanna Pul route.

The police also apprehended some party workers, who were later "freed" by Tahir.

In Tank, PTI workers carried out a rally from Sabir Bazaar to Town Hall ground.

Furthermore, protests and demonstrations were also held in Faisalabad, Vehari, Khushab, Islamabad, Multan, Gujranwala and other cities as well.

Addressing a mass public rally in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur alleged that a conspiracy was hatched to oust their government in 2022.

In a historic first for Pakistan, Imran Khan was ousted as the prime minister from office through a no-confidence motion in April 2022.

“One day all conspirators will be exposed,” Gandapur said and demanded Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa to form a judicial commission on Cipher at the earliest.

“According to Form 45s, the PTI has won the general elections”, the KP chief minister claimed and demanded a judicial commission to probe the result tempering.

Moving on to the reserved seats dilemma, Gandapur said that distributing PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) reserved seats for minorities and women among other political parties was illegal and unconstitutional.

It is pertinent to mention here that a five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, in a 4-1 verdict, declared that the SIC was not entitled to reserved seats in the lower house of parliament.

The bench ordered to distribute the seats among other political parties based on their proportional representation in the National Assembly.

The KP chief executive said that their protest would continue until they were given their due seats in the NA.

For his part, PTI Senator Faisal Javed lauded the sacrifices and services of his party’s incarcerated founder and said: “Imran Khan did not disappoint the nation and the party.”

The weather would change soon and Khan would be released, he hoped.

“The nation has rejected “Form 47 government,” the PTI leader said and demanded that public mandate should be restored.