RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has launched a crackdown against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers and rounded up around 50 of them here on Tuesday.

The police had already prepared lists of the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers and local leaders though a large number of them have already gone underground to avoid arrest.

On Tuesday, 10 PTI workers were rounded up from Ratta, 23 from Pirwadhai, 11 from Morgah.

Besides, three persons were taken into custody in the Airport area and another political activist was detained in Banni.

Most local leaders, workers go into hiding to avoid arrest

A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said the police were still confused over the government’s policy about the crackdown on the PTI workers.

“On Tuesday morning, the police were directed to start a crackdown against the PTI workers. But after we started rounding up the political workers, we were directed to stop the raids,” the police officer added.

He said the police had not received any orders from the government whether the Rawalpindi city was to be sealed or not before the ‘Azadi’ march. However, the police were making arrangements to block the city in case the government ordered them to do so.

In the meantime, the PTI local leaders and active workers have started hiding to avoid arrest before the Azadi march.

PTI district president and MPA Arif Abbasi told Dawn that the government had launched a crackdown against his party workers but so far not a single PTI leader and active worker had been arrested.

“The government deployed policemen around the houses and party offices but the police failed to arrest any PTI leader or worker till late Tuesday night.”

He said the PTI had directed its active workers and local leaders to avoid arrest till August 14 when the party chairman would be arriving along with the Azadi march. He said the PTI had made arrangements to mobilise the people in case of the arrest of its leaders.

“The PTI workers and sympathisers will listen to the victory speech of Imran Khan in Islamabad on August 14. The acceptance of PTI’s one demand exposed the government’s defeat and it will soon accept all the other demands,” Mr Abbasi said.

He claimed that transporters had been forced not to provide vehicles to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the district of Rawalpindi but the party had already made arrangements in this regard.

Meanwhile, after the prime minister’s address to the nation, the local administration held a meeting to discuss the measures to stop the participants of the Azadi march to reach Islamabad.

To avoid any food shortage, the local administration has also been asked to make arrangements to replenish the stocks in the markets for at least 10 days.

“The meeting was informed that the main dealers had sufficient stocks of food items but there was a need to stop them from overcharging in the coming days in case there were disturbances in the city,” said a senior official of the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR).

He said the CDGR had installed close-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras in the city, especially on Jhelum Road, Murree Road and Peshawar Road, to monitor the situation.

A control room has also been established to monitor the rallies, he added.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2014