ISLAMABAD, April 16: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday apprised the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) about the police action against the party workers and parliamentarians on the arrival of Asif Ali Zardari in Lahore.

PPP Human Rights Cell Central Coordinator Fauzia Wahab sent a letter to the acting UNHCHR high commissioner in Geneva, Bertrand Ramcharan, and informed him about the arrest of a large number of party parliamentarians.

Ms Wahab, who is also an MNA, told Mr Ramcharan that due to imposition of Section 144, PPP workers and leaders including MNAs, MPAs and senators in groups of three and four tried to reach the airport from midnight onwards and kept themselves confined to their cars.

The PPP MNA informed the UN body chief that Senator Safdar Abbasi received injuries, MNA Naheed Khan was verbally abused by DSP Multan Ejaz Shafi Dogar and then pulled by hair.

She said the deputy general secretary and MNA Shah Mehmood Qureshi was also jostled into the police van. Senior MNA Shakila Sheikh Rashid, aged 70 years, and Yasmin Rahman were sitting in their cars when the police forcibly opened the doors and took them to a police station. Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, Sherry Rehman, Fahmida Mirza, Rubina Qaimkhani and other colleagues were also taken to the Sarwar Khan police station, the letter said.