PTI leaders Ali Muhammad, Ejaz Chaudhry arrested

ISLAMABAD/ MALAKWAL/ HAFIZABAD/ GUJRANWALA/ PESHAWAR/ RAWALPINDI: The Islamabad police on Thursday arrested two leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including Ali Muhammad Khan and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, from Islamabad.

The police said that Ali Muhammad Khan was arrested from the Red Zone under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). Ali Muhammad told the police that he was on his way to the Supreme Court when he was arrested. Senator Ejaz Chaudhry was arrested from the Gilgit Baltistan House under the MPO. Both were shifted to jail under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

Earlier, Shah Mehmood Quraishi, Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar were arrested and shifted to the Adiala Jail. The police said that the PTI leaders were arrested for inciting violence.

Meanwhile, a large number of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders and workers and activists were booked and arrested on carrying out violent protests, damaging official and private properties and blocking roads and creating law and order situation in different parts of country after the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

The Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid was put under house arrest in the federal capital on Thursday.

A notification was issued by the office of the Chief Commissioner, Islamabad. The GB provincial chief executive has been detained at the GB Islamabad House. A good number of policemen have been deployed outside the GB House to prevent any untoward situation. The detention follows deadly unrest in the country after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Meanwhile, over 296 people were arrested from across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for attacking and torching the public and private properties, firing and violence during the rallies of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the last three days while protesting the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan. Among those 44 held by the police were nominated in FIRs while 252 were arrested under the MPO. Officials said the attackers are being identified through the CCTV footages and other evidences to conduct raids on their houses and arrest them.

A number of people fired shots in the air on Thursday while several danced on the tune of dhol soon after IK appeared in the Supreme Court.

Seven people have lost lives while over 106 civilians and 46 policemen were wounded in violent clashes in Peshawar and other districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the last couple of days. Officials said four of those were killed in Peshawar, two in Kohat and one in Dir Lower.

Army has been called to help the police in maintaining law and order in the province. As many as 16 platoons of Frontier Constabulary were also deployed to assist the police. Army and other forces patrolled different areas of the provincial capital. In Peshawar, the protesters damaged and torched 15 state properties and several private buildings. Also, 12 vehicles, mostly official cars or ambulances, were torched or damaged.

Apart from the office of the Election Commission, the state-run radio and news agency, NAB office, the Lines of the traffic police, police posts, stations of the BRT service, toll plaza in Chakdara and other public and private buildings have come under attack by the mob. The protesters also pelted stones at the Balahisar Fort, the headquarters of paramilitary Frontier Corps.

Army troops, along with Frontier Constabulary and heavy contingents of police, patrolled the main roads on Thursday to control the situation. Barricades were erected to stop the entry of protesters into the red zone.

Among the wounded policemen were SP City Abdul Salam Khalid, SP Saddar Malik Habib, SP Rural Zafar Ahmad and SP Security Atiq Shah.

Police officials said cases were being registered against a number of leaders and workers of the PTI in Peshawar and other districts of the province for leading violent protests, ransacking and torching public and private properties and attacking police and law enforcement agencies personnel.

Some roads were closed by small groups of PTI workers, including young boys, on Thursday. These were later opened after former PM arrived at the Supreme Court.

Schools in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained closed due to the situation while the annual examination of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education were postponed.

Internet services as well as social media networks remained suspended in most parts of the province. People mostly remained indoors due to the road blockade and protests.

Meanwhile, PTI workers blocked roads at 139 places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, an official of the Police Control said here Thursday. He informed that 659 people were taken into custody during various operations by the police and a total of 15 properties, including 13 government buildings of the province, were set on fire during the protest, including historical state-run radio Peshawar and official news agency Peshawar Bureau.

He said protesters set fire to 17 government and private vehicles, including 12 government vehicles, in different areas of the province.

A number of items were stolen from state-run radio Peshawar and official news agency Peshawar Bureau, Nadra Mega Centre, police stations and many other buildings and shops, the official said.

More than 300 people, including 58 policemen, were injured in the Tehreek-e-Insaf protests, said the official. He disclosed that seven protesters have been killed during clashes with the police.

Meanwhile, over 500 PTI workers, including a ticket holder for PP-68, were booked for taking out a protest rally in Malakwal.

Malakwal police registered two separate cases against the arrested workers, including ticket holder Qamar Khan, District Vice President Asghar Yaqoob Sandhu, City President Raja Talha, Hameedullah Niazi, Qasim Niazi, Jannat Khan and Zain Jutt.

Police also nabbed 11 workers, including Jannat Khan, Qasim Niazi, and Mudassar Shah, and sent them to the district jail, Mandi Bahauddin, for one month while two nominated protesters managed to get pre-arrest bail from the Malakwal civil courts.

Meanwhile, more than 60 PTI activists, including two ex-MPAs, were arrested during police raids in Hafizabad and other areas. PTI activists staged a demonstration at Jalalpur Bhattian, Pindi Bhattian and Hafizabad and cases were registered against more than 105 persons, including ex-MNA Chaudhry Shaukat Ali Bhatti and ex-MPAs.

After this, police conducted raids at various places in the district and arrested more than 60 activists, including two ex-MPAs Mian Ahsan Ansar and Ch Asad Ullah Araeen. After registering cases, no PTI activist was seen anywhere while the law and order situation in the district remained peaceful.

Police arrested 115 people involved in violent protests against the arrest of Chairman PTI Imran Khan in Gujranwala. Cantt, Sadar and Sabzi Mandi police have registered cases against more than 900 PTI workers and local leaders for staging violent protests. In this regard, police sources said that 115 people have been arrested so far during raids while an operation to arrest other accused is going on.

Meanwhile, police on Thursday shifted PTI’s top leaders including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry to Adiala jail after they had been arrested following the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan.

Talking to the media minutes before the arrest Fawad Chaudhry said it was happening for the first time in Pakistan that an SC lawyer had been arrested in SC premises. Bar associations had, he said, reduced the power of lawyers in their personal feud. All the sections of the society were facing challenges now, he said. He said when he came to the IHC, Imran Khan was arrested on the premises of the IHC and he was tortured and received head injuries, he added.

Earlier, an anti-terrorism court sent PTI leader and former governor Punjab Umar Sarfaraz Cheema to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in a case of vandalism, rioting and arson. Cheema was produced before the court handcuffed. The court refused to grant his physical remand and directed police to submit an investigation report on the next hearing.

Meanwhile, Cheema’s arrest was challenged in the Lahore High Court which sought a report from the authorities concerned by May 16.

Meanwhile, PTI’s provincial minister and former deputy speaker of the National Assembly was arrested as an FIR was lodged against him and others under the provi­sions of terrorism, including arson and attempted murder at Baleli police station on Wednesday. Under the provisions attempted murder and ar­son and terrorism, Balochistan Minister Mubeen Khan Khilji, former Deputy Speaker National As­sembly Qasim Khan Suri, PTI Balochistan Presi­dent Dr Munir Baloch and 14 other persons have been nominated in the FIR.