FAISALABAD: At least five cases have been registered against more than 3,000 activists and leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in different police stations on charges of delivering speeches against the government, staging rallies without seeking permission, using loudspeaker and hurling threats of disrupting peace on Sunday night.

Cases were lodged on Monday with the Nishatabad, Sargodha Road, Rail Bazaar, Factory Area and Samanabad police.

Prime accused named in the FIRs included Maryam Nawaz, her husband Muhammad Safdar, former Sindh governor Zubair Umer, former state minister Talal Chaudhry, Mussadaq Malik, Nabeela, wife of former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah, her son-in-law Sheharyar, former mayor Malik Razzaq, MNAs Javeed Latif, Shahbaz Babar and Alia Rajab Baloch.

MPAs named in these cases included Jaffar Hocha, Ajmal Asif, Rana Ali Abbas, Zafar Nagra, Hamid Rasheed, Rai Haider Ali, former MNAs Haji Akram Ansari, Ijaz Virk, Mian Mannan, Khalifa Mansoor, former MPAs Kashif Rahim, Khalid Saeed, Rana Arshad, Shafiq Gujjar, Nawaz Malik and others.

Police said the accused had created problems for motorists by blocking various roads.

Ms Nawaz had visited Faisalabad on Sunday evening. She reached the residence of Rana Sanaullah in Samanabad after about seven hours as people welcomed her on different roads.

A police officer said cases had been registered on the direction of the government. He said raids to arrest the accused would be carried out after the government nod.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2019