Islamabad Police arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Information Secretary Raoof Hassan during a raid on the party’s secretariat on Monday, as reported by Express News. The operation, led by SSP Hassan Jahangir Wattoo, involved a substantial police presence surrounding the PTI headquarters in the federal capital, with female police officers participating in the raid.
The charges against the detained officials have not yet been disclosed. The PTI has condemned the arrests, calling them politically motivated.
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Authorities have not provided details on the specifics of the raid or the evidence leading to the arrests.
P.T.I. candidates have been detained and forced to denounce the party, the candidates say. Their relatives have been arrested and their homes ransacked in an effort to intimidate them, candidates, their relatives and human rights observers say. Officials have prevented other P.T.I. candidates from campaigning, censored news coverage of the party and used internet blackouts to block live-streamed speeches by P.T.I. leaders. The dragnet has also ensnared hundreds of supporters who have been detained.