Lahore Police Arrests Over 30 PTI Protesters Marking Imran’s Imprisonment Anniversary.

The Lahore police reported that they arrested over 30 members of the PTI party after they publicly announced the start of a countrywide movement demanding the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated for two years.

Imran is currently serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail for a £190 million corruption case and is facing a plethora of terrorism allegations stemming from the riots of the 9 May 2023. To add on, for the case of state gifts, he has been serving time since the 5th of August.

Asad Qaiser, a leader of PTI claimed that the 5th of August served as the beginning of the protest but also claimed that this date should not symbolize a “final call”. To further add on, there was a statement from Imran that served as a call for nationwide protest which included the statement “the movement that begins on August 5 will continue until democracy is restored in its true spirit”.

To further report on the event “More than 30 PTI activists trying to block roads in different areas of the city were taken into custody” was reported by Lahore Deputy Inspector General (operations) Faisal Kamran.

He refuted the claims regarding the police taking hundreds of activists into custody.

Around 1 PM, the PTI stated that one of its members, Rehana Dar, had been arrested by the police in Lahore.

“An elder like Rehana Dar is being dragged by the shameless Punjab Police. To witness this is a disgrace,” the PTI posted on its official X page.

Aslo, PTI posted a video of Dar, a contestant of the 2024 general elections in Sialkot, being pulled into a police van by officers in riot gear.

The PTI accused CM Maryam Nawaz and Punjab IG Dr Usman Anwar of，“with this act, abandoning all sense of shame and decency”.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur is likely to join a rally in Peshawar as is evident from videos showing the rally’s container.

The party’s information revealed that rallies were simultaneously conducted from multiple cities across the country.

The former AJK premier Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, who was arrested recently under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, also orchestrated a rally following his last-night release, as reported by PTI.

PTI also shared videos showing the convoys setting out from Peshawar, Mansehra, and other regions heading towards Swabi.

The Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway was blocked at the Swabi Interchange at 5 pm, and both Peshawar and Islamabad sides were blocked. Despite the attempts of the Motorway Police, the situation remained unchanged. The police seemed incapable of reasoning with the PTI activists, and as a result, the motorway remained blocked and travelers were stranded on the highway in the scorching sun.

PTI leadership remained active, addressing the gathering of protesters.

Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhury Express Sadness Over Imran’s Detention

Along with the other former PTI members who left the party due to the May 9 riots, Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar are both former PTI leaders who shared their thoughts on Imran’s Khan lengthy imprisonment.

Asad Umar, the former finance minister, went on to share his thoughts on X, stating “Even today, two years after Imran Khan’s imprisonment, the anti-Khan narrative did not sell, and the perception of the public is that Khan is a political prisoner, not a prisoner of law.”

Further, Umar urged the politicians to “stop wasting time” and come with the PTI to a “table where a solution is enabled with the constitution.” He added that this is the only way to resolve the political impasse.

Chaudhry stated that Imran was imprisoned “merely for the sake of democracy in Pakistan and the sovereignty of the people.”