Mass Arrests in Lahore: PTI Supporters Demand Imran Khan's Release

Lahore, Aug 5 (PTI) Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party announced on Tuesday that police in Pakistan's Punjab province had arrested hundreds of its workers and supporters who had taken to the streets to demand the release of the party's founder.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters launched a nationwide campaign advocating for the release of Khan, who marked two years in jail on August 5.

Khan, 72, was arrested on August 5, 2023, at his residence in Lahore following his conviction in a corruption case. He has remained incarcerated due to convictions in other cases and is currently held at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi. Most of the arrests, according to Khan's party, took place in Lahore, where supporters gathered in large numbers to protest against the "fascist regime."

Police in Punjab province, governed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, detained PTI supporters for allegedly violating Section 144, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people. A Punjab Police spokesperson stated that no violations of Section 144 would be tolerated, hence the arrests.

Amid an apparent media ban on broadcasting PTI rallies, numerous videos of police cracking down on party workers during the demonstrations have gone viral on social media. On social media, the police actions, which included dragging elderly PTI supporters, faced condemnation.

However, a significant PTI lawyers' rally on Lahore's Mall Road saw police exercise caution in their approach toward participants.

"Today, August 5, marks two years since former prime minister Imran Khan was imprisoned, denied basic human rights, and given limited access to legal counsel or family," noted senior party leader Zulfi Bokhari. He criticized the government's ban on gatherings, as well as its blocking of major highways, destruction of vehicles with party flags, and raids on the homes of active party leaders and workers.

"Over 500 PTI leaders and workers, primarily from Lahore, have been detained in Punjab alone, including several lawmakers," he reported. "Democracy is non-existent, nor is the rule of law and human rights upheld. Such tyrannical treatment of Pakistani citizens is dishonorable, even under this hybrid regime," declared Bokhari.

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