| Ruling party workers chant slogans against dissident lawmakers | Workers in Faisalabad, Peshawar also protest against PTI MNAs | Two PTI MNAs arrested for input in protest
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Angry activists of the ruling PTI on Friday stormed the Sindh House in Islamabad to protest against dissident lawmakers staying at the PPP-led provincial government’s facility citing “security threats” from their own party.
TV footage shows dozens of the ruling party activists barging into the Sindh House and chanting slogans against the group of estranged lawmakers who have announced voting against their party line in the no-trust motion tabled against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly.
The development came a day after several PTI lawmakers revealed that they had sought refuge in the Sindh House, fearing the incumbent government action as they have decided to vote on the no-trust move “according to their conscience”.
MNA Raja Riaz of the disgruntled faction, known as the Jahangir Tareen group, claimed that as many as 24 PTI MNAs, including women lawmakers, were present at the facility.
The annoyed PTI workers can be seen in the video scaling the wall of the Sindh House while some of them smashed the door of the building by kicking it down.
The angry workers were led by PTI MPAs Faheem Khan and Ataullah Niazi from Karachi, according to reports.
A heavy contingent of the Islamabad police reached the scene and dispersed the protesters.
The police detained eight workers including two PTI lawmakers from the Sindh House.
The PTI leadership took notice of the situation with its Secretary-General Asad Umar directed the workers not to take the law into their hands and immediately vacate the Sindh House.
‘PM Imran loses political battle’
Speaking to the media, PPP leader Sharjeel Memon lashed out at the federal government, saying that the incident is the failure of the interior ministry and federal capital police.
“The attack on the Sindh House is tantamount to an attack on Sindh province,” he remarked while defending the decision of deploying a large number of Sindh police personnel to protect the building amid reports that the federal government was planning to raid the facility.
“[PM] Imran Khan now wants a clash because he has lost the political battle.”
Meanwhile, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the vicinity of Sindh House is a “very sensitive location” because residences of important personalities including chief justice are also located in the same area.
“The PPP and the PML-N should shift the turncoats somewhere else, otherwise this spectacle will remain to continue for an entire month,” he added.
Noor Alam Khan, dissident PTI lawmaker present in the Sindh House, shared a screenshot of WhatsApp messages on his official Twitter handle, saying that he had been receiving threats.
An Islamabad police senior official said in a statement that a complete bas has been imposed by the federal capital administration on all kinds of political activities including protests in red zone area ahead of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Islamabad.
The official added that the area has been cleared and warned that indiscriminate action will be taken against those who violate the directives.
