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LAHORE, June 5: Police continued crackdown on opposition activists on Tuesday and arrested hundreds of them in several Punjab districts. The crackdown is believed to be a pre-emptive measure to thwart a likely wave of protest following the imposition of the presidential Pemra Ordinance.
The parties which faced the wrath of police are: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf. Police arrested only workers and while no parliamentarian was detained. In Sheikhupura, workers secured released when the District Bar Association president moved court and a bailiff rescued the workers.
OKARA: Police house-arrested PPP ticket-holder Major (R) Ijaz Shahid Mohal, Deepalpur PML-N union council nazim Mehr Nasir Sial, Kamran Shafiq, Pirwali Jamia Masjid prayer leader Maulana Kifayatullah, Haji Muhammad Idrees, Zafar Iqbal Bodla and Anjuman-i-Tajran leader Muhammad Yousaf Billa. Police raided the houses of Rana Basit Ali Khan and Fayyaz Khan Ghori but both escaped.
GUJRANWALA: Over 100 activists of opposition political parties were arrested across the district. Police thwarted the opposition’s plans to take out a torch-bearing procession against the president’s Pemra Ordinance. Awami National Party (ANP) Vice President Riaz A Sheikh, District Bar Association President Ilyas Rehan, PPP MNA Chaudhry Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, PML-N’s Ghulam Dastgir Khan, Barrister Usman Ibrahim and MMA’s Bilal Qudrat Butt condemned the arrest spree.
SAHIWAL: Police arrested District MMA President Maulana Ahmed Yar Siddiqi, PPP’s Qamar Sultan Kathia and Masoodul Hassan Ramay, PML-N’s Tahir Mukhtar, Mohsin Sardar and Muhammad Tahir and JI’s Dr Qadeer Lashari and Allah Ditta. Police shifted the workers to an undisclosed location.
TOBA TEK SINGH: Police arrested PPP’s Safdar Nasir and Zulfiqar Ali and detained them at the City Police Station. A meeting was held by the Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) to condemn the arrest of LPP Secretary General Farooq Tariq.
Pakistan Kissan Committee President Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad, Mian Faheem Ahmad, PPP’s Rana Khalid Mahmood, Tariq Mahmood and Press club president Mian Manzoor Naz condemned his arrest.
BAHAWALPUR: Scores of opposition leaders and activists were arrested in a pre-dawn crackdown in Bahawalpur, Hasilpur, Ahmedpur East, Yazman and Khairpur Tamewali on Tuesday. In Ahmedpur East and Hasilpur, police even entered the houses of the activists without prior permission and harassed inmates.
A number of opposition leaders and office-bearers on receipt of information of the crack down went underground. The arrested activists included: former PPP MPA Rao Tariq Mahmood, JI’s Dr Iftikhar Warraich, PML-N’s Dr Ehsan, Talha Owais and Mian Tariq Saleem in Hasilpur; in Bahawalpur, JI’s Qari Abdul Rahim and Dr Mohsin Hadi; and in Khairpur Tamewali, PPP’s Ghulam Sarwar Panwar and Sami Shaheen. Reporters and lawyers strongly reacted to the amended Pemra Ordinance.
VEHARI: Twelve activists of the opposition political parties were arrested in the district and those were: Gulzar Norani, Arshad Mughal, Sadiq Naseem, Sajid Ali, Yaqoob, Ishfaq, Arshad and Fiaz. Sadar Deputy Superintendent of Police Abdul Majeed Chishti confirmed the crackdown and said activists had been arrested as pre-emptive measures to thwart anti-presidential Pemra Ordinance protests. Reporters held a protest meeting at the Vehari Press Club and condemned the ordinance.
MUZAFFARGARH: Crackdown against the opposition parties continued in Muzaffargarh to stop them from protesting against the government. Eight activists were arrested while hundreds of the office-bearers of the opposition parties have gone underground. Those who have been arrested are: Hammad Nawaz, Inayatullah Chandia, Liaquat Niazi, Hakim Irfan Ahmed, Arshad Siddiq, Tariq Farooq, Abdul Rashid, Rana Sajid and Abdul Aziz. They have been detained for three months. Muzaffargarh District Police Officer Rai Tahir confirmed the detention of eight activists under section 3 of the MPO.
MIANWALI: Police arrested JI’s Hafiz Javed Iqbal Sajid and Maulana Manzoor Sialvi. Police also raided the residences of leaders of the PTI and Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, but failed to arrest them.
MANDI BAHAUDDIN: Those opposition activists who could not escape arrest are: PML-N’s Sikandar Hayat Gondal, union council nazims Ijaz Janjua Nazim and Ashraf Ghauri, JI’s Zaigham Mughera, Zafar Gondal and Nasir Ahmed. Raids were on to arrest former PML-N MPA Dewaan Mushtaq Ahmed and District PPP President Tariq Tarrar.
SIALKOT: Up to 56 activists of the PML-N, PPP and MMA were arrested in Sialkot and Narowal districts.
LAYYAH: Three political activists were arrested in Layyah. District JI’s Mubashir Naeem Chaudhry and Elahi Bux Juta and PPP’s Malik Ashiq Husain Khokar were detained in police stations, while raids were on to arrest more workers. Sadar DSP Aftab Ahmed Khan said these arrests were made on the orders of higher authorities.
SHEIKHUPURA: Seven activists of the opposition parties detained by the City A and B divisions were released on Tuesday when a bailiff raided the police stations. The activists who were released included: Malik Ishtiaq Awan, Rana Akram Naz, Malik Ali Abbas, Mehdi Hassan, Malik Younas, Aftab Sial and Usman Nisar. DBA President Nasrullah Wattoo filed a petition with the district and sessions court judge. The judge constituted a bailiff which secured the release of the seven workers from police lock-ups.
MULTAN: Police arrested PPP’s M Saleem Raja, Saeed Moni and Rana Yousaf Raza, PML-N’s Imtiaz Gulzar and Mueen Akhtar Langah and MMA’ Asif Akhwani.
Police also raided the houses of PML-N’s Muhammad Bilal Butt and Rao Anees Salman but they escaped. Fayyaz Ahmed, additional superintendent of police, confirmed the arrest of six workers.
DERA GHAZI KHAN: Police shifted the workers of the PPP and the PML-N to Kala Police Station. Also, ARD workers staged demonstration against the crackdown.
