Imran condemns ‘illegal arrests and abduction’ of party workers

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday condemned what he termed the “illegal arrests and abduction” of party workers and leaders.

In the aftermath of Imran’s arrest on May 9, several PTI members were also taken into custody. Imran has since been released.

In a detailed tweet, he condemned the arrests of PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar, who he said “have been incarcerated for more than a week now”.

He added that despite court orders, journalist Imran Riaz Khan has not been presented in court and there are confirmed reports of torture against him.

He went on to demand the “immediate release of all our female leaders, workers and the female family members of our leaders and workers.”

He also questioned how PTI leader Shehrayar Afridi’s wife could be jailed.

This is purely done to spread terror amongst the people so that they don’t stand up for their constitutional rights, Imran said.

“I am deeply disturbed after hearing of Dr. Shireen Mazari, the former Human Rights Minister’s treatment and her daughter being physically assaulted by male police officers.”

The video evidence coming forward of the barbaric treatment meted out to our female supporters is reprehensible, he added.

“Many of our female MNAs, supporters, and workers are being held in jails across Pakistan under inhumane conditions, vulnerable to police excesses,” he said. “These abductions and the treatment being meted out to women by this fascist government are not only grave human rights violations but are strictly against our culture and Islamic teachings.”

All these women must be immediately released, he demanded.

“Their continued incarceration is unconscionable. I am also raising this with International Human Rights organisations.”

Mazari was arrested on May 12 under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (3MPO). She was granted bail earlier today but was re-arrested as she was leaving the jail.

Human rights groups condemned the arrest and accused the government of using the law to target its political opponents.

The government has defended the re-arrest, saying that it was necessary to ensure that Mazari did not interfere with the investigation into the charges against her.

Meanwhile, the police also arrested PTI Senator Falak Naz outside jail despite having received bail.

Earlier, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, who avoided arrest by running inside the Islamabad High Court building, got relief after the court barred the police from arresting him in an “undisclosed” case.

PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar were also arrested last week following Imran’s arrest. They are still in custody.