LAHORE: The police continued their crackdown on members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, as senior PTI leaders Dr Shireen Mazari and Dr Yasmin Rashid were arrested in separate raids in Islamabad and Lahore.
According to reports, police raided Mazari’s house in the early hours of Friday, following the arrests of several other PTI leaders, including Imran Khan, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry.
All except Khan were arrested under Section Three of the Maintenance of Public Order. The PTI confirmed the arrest of Yasmin Rashid, a former Punjab health minister, who was reportedly hiding to avoid arrest. A number of cases are filed against her, including one relating to an attack on the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence.
In a legal victory for the PTI, the Supreme Court declared Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case illegal on May 11 and ordered his release “immediately.” The court sent Khan to the Police Lines Guest House, where he spent the night with his family and close friends.
However, the court ordered him to appear before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by the following day, which is the same court that had previously declared his arrest to be legal. It is noteworthy that the court has set a precedent that no person shall be arrested within the premises of a court.
Despite the legal setback, Khan has continued his campaign to pressure the government to call early elections scheduled for later this year. The graft case is one of more than 100 registered against him, in which, if convicted, he could face a ban from holding public office.
Interior Minister, Rana Sanaullah, has stated that they will arrest Khan again. Khan has denied any wrongdoing and claims that he was manhandled at the time of his arrest. Following Khan’s arrest, violent protests erupted across the country, resulting in hundreds of arrests, eight deaths, and damage to state buildings, police and public vehicles, and army installations. The streets have been mostly quiet since then, with sporadic protests.
Supreme Court orders to release Imran Khan, terms arrest by NAB as illegal
