PTI forms panel to work on withdrawing cases filed in Punjab after 'Azadi March'

Published July 20, 2022
PTI General Secretary Asad Umar. —DawnNewsTV/File
PTI General Secretary Asad Umar. —DawnNewsTV/File

PTI secretary general Asad Umar on Wednesday announced that his party has formed an "Anti Victimisation and Accountability Committee" to get criminal cases filed against party members following the "Azadi March" on May 25 withdrawn and identify officials who "tortured" protesters for legal proceedings.

"No one should think that we have forgotten May 25. Neither have we forgotten it nor will we let anyone forget it," he said on Twitter.

The march

Former prime minister Imran Khan's march for haqeeqi azadi — true freedom — was preceded by the authorities invoking Section 144, a measure used to curb gatherings. Shipping containers were put in place on major thoroughfares to block their path.

A night before the march, police raids were reported on PTI leaders' residences. On the day of the march, party supporters and workers in Punjab met the worst form of atrocities.

In one such incident, ex-minister Hammad Azhar suffered injuries after tear gas was fired at him. On the other hand, the windshield of former provincial health minister Yasmin Rashid's car was smashed.

Read more: 'Gangsterism' — Criticism pours in on police action to contain PTI's Azadi March

Separately, after the protest ended at the D-Chowk, an avalanche of cases was registered against Imran and other PTI leaders such as Rashid, Fawad Chaudhry, Azhar, Imran Ismail, Shibli Faraz, and others.

The committee

In a tweet today, Umar said that the party had constituted a committee that would oversee all the first information reports (FIRs) and "identify the fake cases".

It would be headed by former education minister Shafqat Mahmood and comprise PTI leaders Aamer Mehmood Kiani, Yasmin Rashid, Aon Abbas Buppi, and Raja Basharat.

Umar outlined that the purpose of the committee would be to collect all fake cases registered against PTI members in Punjab and take legal steps to get them withdrawn.

Furthermore, it would "identify officials responsible for illegal and criminal action" against party members and initiate legal proceedings against them.

The development comes after the party had a sweeping victory in the crucial Punjab by-elections after winning 15 out of 20 seats in the province.

At a press conference yesterday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the party would now form a government in the province on July 22 after the run-off chief minister elections.

PTI has chosen PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as its candidate.

Opinion

Editorial

Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...
By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...