Police round up workers in Multan ahead of PTI rally in Lahore

MULTAN: The city police have rounded up more than four dozen workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to prevent their participation in the Lahore PTI meeting on Saturday, police sources confirmed.

The crackdown launched on Friday night and continued Saturday to arrest PTI workers in raids conducted at their houses, sources said. Further, the lists of PTI workers available with The News revealed the target of PTI workers’ arrest was 567, however, police could arrest only 51 till filing this news. All the lists were provided to respective area SHOs to ensure the arrest of workers.

A senior police official told The News that the second and third-rank PTI leaders are also the target of the arrest drive. Police raids are continuing and more arrests are expected. About 40 PTI workers were arrested till Thursday night and the rest were arrested late, police said and claimed to arrest former MPA Haji Javed Akhtar Ansari’s son Mohammad Waqas Ansari, former district president of PTI Women’s Wing Multan Dr Rubina Akhtar, Sheikh Mazhar Abbas, former UC Chairman Saleem, Fahad Tariq, Sheikh Sajid Sohail, Riyaz Laang, Malik Shehzad Arain, Bilawal, Asif Laang, Sheikh Usman, Sheikh Taj Muhammad and former Chairman UC 23 Muhammad Shakeel and Councilor Irshad.

Amid arrest, PTI workers had devised a strategy to go to Lahore individually instead of at rallies. The workers disappeared from their homes despite police alert, rain and bad weather. The police raided the house of PTI Women Wing Punjab Vice President Qurban Fatima and her husband Mian Farooq but failed to make any rest. All the SPs were under the direction to monitor crackdowns.

The PTI South Punjab vice president Zain Qureshi strongly condemned the arrest of PTI workers and said that the imported government has become a victim of confusion after the popularity of Imran Khan. He criticized government performance and said that by postponing the elections, these people are not only insulting the court by refraining from constitutional measures. “How long will these people run away from the election? Even if they don’t want to, these people will have to conduct elections. The PTI will win,” he added.

He expressed these views while addressing the reception ceremony in connection with the public communication campaign in Union Council 54 of PP 217. He said that due to the incompetence of the imported rulers, the country is stuck in a quagmire, and the economy is under severe crisis, consequences of which both the country and the nation are suffering. “Inflation has reached a 70-year record level in the country’s history. Lawlessness is rampant. Mismanagement is in front of the nation. The government has neither any agenda nor the competence to run the country. People have been forced to commit suicide.”

He said quick and transparent elections are the only solution to get the country out of the quagmire. Zain Qureshi said the time has come for the nation to step out for Imran Khan. He requested party workers, mothers, sisters, sons, brothers, farmers, lawyers, and civil society representatives to gather to listen to Imran Khan’s speech and future action plan at Minar Pakistan.