ISLAMABAD, Sept 10 (Askume) – Pakistani police detained several lawmakers and leaders of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party in raids, a day after the party held a big rally in the capital demanding his release, the party and police said on Tuesday.
The 71-year-old former cricket star has been ruled out of the 2022 Pakistan Test series due to differences with Pakistan military chiefsHe has been in jail for more than a year .
The spokesperson said the police had detained four people, but the party said 13 people were detained from various places in Islamabad, some of them from outside Parliament.
Media footage showed police pushing MPs into detention vans outside parliament, which opposition party leader Omar Ayub Khan described as “disgusting”.
Khan’s ally Zulfiqar Bukhari called the detention illegal, posting on Twitter: “Yesterday’s massive protest sent shivers down the spine of the government.”
Buhari, who is also the party spokesperson, said those arrested included party chairman Gauhar Khan, senior leader Shoaib Shaheen and Sher Afzal Sher Afzal Marwat.
Candidates backed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the most seats in February’s general election but fell short of the majority needed to form a government.
His rivals formed an alliance and established a governing coalition led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Police said the action came a day after a party meeting demanding Khan’s release on the outskirts of the city led to clashes between supporters and police in which a senior police officer was injured.
The party said violence broke out when police fired tear gas to break up the peaceful rally.
Some party leaders, including Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, criticised the ruling coalition and the military for their speeches at the rally.
“Get your house in order,” he advised the military, warning against any court-martial against Khan . “I am not afraid of the uniform.”
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said Gandapur threatened to release Khan by force and incited his supporters to violence.
A police spokesman confirmed in a message to Askume that at least four people had been detained, but did not issue a formal statement on the charges or details of the arrests.
