KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh leadership claimed on Sunday that more than 124 party members, including elected representatives, have been detained in a widespread crackdown ahead of a planned shutterdown strike on February 8.
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh said in a statement that Sindh police had conducted numerous raids across Karachi and other districts, forcibly entering homes to arrest party leaders and supporters.
He claimed that in addition to the detentions, several individuals had been moved to unknown locations.
Sheikh described the planned strike as a peaceful political struggle and entirely voluntary, stressing that the party had not called for any forced shop closures, vandalism, or road blockages. “We are peaceful political actors. We believe in constitutional and democratic struggle. Violence is not part of our politics,” he affirmed.
The PTI Sindh chief accused the provincial administration of acting out of fear, denouncing the pre-emptive nature of the police action.
“This crackdown began even before the voluntary strike. Breaking into political workers’ homes what kind of democracy is this?” he questioned, adding that the PPP-led government was outdoing Punjab Police in its excesses.
He clarified that the protest was not directed at any political party but was a demonstration against a “stolen public mandate.”
Sheikh maintained that if the people’s vote had not been hijacked, Imran Khan would currently been the Prime Minister.
“People are making their own decisions,” he said.
The party is demanding the immediate release of all detained individuals and a halt to the illegal raids.
Sheikh predicted that the public would observe the wheel jam and shutterdown themselves on the designated day, stating that political differences could not be crushed by force.
PTI Sindh Vice President Rizwan Niazi, who also condemned the government’s measures, reiterated that dozens of party officials and workers had been arrested and that arrests and intimidation could not halt the movement to protect the public mandate.
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