PTI’s 2 ex-MNAs arrested in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: A joint team of law-enforcement agencies and Islamabad Police on Thursday arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central Additional Secretary General Ali Nawaz Awan, former MNA Malik Amir and their two hosts here in the Battal area.

The personnel of law-enforcement agencies and federal police raided the residence of chairman Battal Neighbourhood Council and a local PTI leader, Hezbollah. They arrested party’s central additional secretary general and former MNA from the federal capital, Ali Nawaz Awan, and former MNA from Multan-II, Malik Amir Dogar.

They also arrested Hezbollah and his cousin and shifted all of them to Punjab.

The Mansehra Police were silent over the arrests when approached. Awan and Dogar had gone underground after the law-enforcement agencies had launched a crackdown on the PIT leadership after the May 9 attacks on army installations in various parts of the country, this year.

“The PTI leaders have been arrested for allegedly ransacking and attacking police stations and army installations in Punjab and federal capital in an operation carried out by personnel of law-enforcement agencies and police in the Battal area,” Ajmal Khan Swati, former PTI information secretary in Hazara Division, told reporters. The PTI leader lamented that his party’s leaders were being arrested after the announcement of the date for general election.