ISLAMABAD: Amid the ongoing crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders in the wake of former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest, party leaders Ali Muhammad Khan and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry have been arrested from Islamabad.
The Islamabad police said in a statement on Thursday that the party leaders were taken into custody under Section 3 Maintenance Public Ordinance (MPO). Ali Muhammad Khan was arrested as he was heading towards the Supreme Court, where the hearing against Imran Khan’s arrest was underway.
The latest arrests came a day after PTI leaders Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry were taken into custody while Shah Mahmood Qureshi was detained earlier today under the same act.
PTI leaders are being detained by law enforcers in a bid to contain the countrywide violent protests sparked by the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan.
Earlier in the day, an Islamabad Police spokesperson confirmed that scores of PTI leaders, including Qureshi, Umar, Fawad, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Falak Naz Chitrali, Mussarat Jamshed Cheema, and Maleeka Bukhari were arrested.
“All arrests were carried out after completing the legal requirements,” the spokesperson said, warning that more arrests are expected.
Qureshi, who is second-in-line to Khan, was arrested by the police in cases of riots and arsons in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police sources said. However, before his arrest, the PTI leader encouraged party workers to continue their struggle for true freedom in the country. –Agencies
