Dozens of PTI leaders were arrested from the Parliament House on Monday night. The crackdown began in the evening and continued till Tuesday morning.
Arrested leaders include Chairman PTI Barrister Gohar, Barrister Sher Afzal Marwat, and Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram. Shoaib Shaheen was arrested from his office.
MNA Zain Qureshi was also arrested from the Parliament House. Meanwhile, MNA Zartaj Gul Wazir managed to escape the scene. Additionally, police detained Owais Ahmed Chatha, Syed Shah Ahmed, Sunni Ittehad Council’s Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Yousaf Khan, Maulana Naseem Shah, and Ahmed Shah Khattak.
Condemning the arrests of PTI leaders, Meher Bano Qureshi in a tweet said: “Parliament was defiled last night in the most vulgar manner. Its sanctity and sovereignty were assaulted! The same parliament will now pass legislation to deface not strengthen the judicial system?”
Islamabad Police claims that soon PTI leader Omar Ayub and Zartaj Gul Wazir will also be arrested. The crackdown on PTI leaders coincided with the seven-hour-long disappearance of CM KPK Ali Amin Gandapur. This induced panic among PTI workers and followers, who protested these arrests.
Read more: CM Ali Amin Gandapur reappears in Peshawar after missing
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur reached Peshawar after going missing for hours on Monday evening. He went missing following a crackdown on the PTI leadership after the Sangjani jalsa in Islamabad on Sunday.
The development was confirmed by PTI’s member National Assembly (MNA) Shahid Khattak with sources saying that the CM was “busy in various meetings” in the federal capital after the party’s power show. The PTI leadership was concerned regarding his absence.
Contrary to the reports and the possibility of his abduction, media reports claim that he was attending a crucial meeting in an area where jammers were installed. Hence, contacting him was not possible.
KP’s CM adviser Barrister Muhammad Saif said that he feared the federal government might have taken him in custody. Gandapur has not been in contact since 6 PM on Monday.