KARACHI: A provincial lawmaker and Karachi chapter’s secretary general of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Arsalan Taj Ghumman, was whisked away reportedly by policemen who alongside “men dressed in plainclothes broke into his house” in Gulshan-i-Iqbal in the early hours of Sunday.

In the late evening, it emerged that the lawmaker had been taken into custody by the police in a case pertaining to an attack on the Keamari deputy commissioner’s office.

After hours-long silence, the police admitted that they had arrested the PTI leader in a case pertaining to an attack on the deputy commissioner’s office in Keamari some two months ago.

A police officer, who wished not to be named, said that the PTI MPA was arrested by the Site-A police over the attack on the Keamari office on January 18. The police had booked several PTI leaders, including former federal minister Ali Zaidi, in the case.

Meanwhile, the PTI spokesperson stated MPA Ghumman was arrested in the case registered under the anti-terrorism act.

Imran demands release of lawmaker; brother says Ghumman was whisked away without warrant

Earlier in the day, MPA Jamal Siddiqi, who is PTI’s central deputy secretary of information, told Dawn that some “plainclothes men and policemen forced their way into the house” of the legislator near Disco Bakery.

Quoting the family, Mr Siddiqi said that the “intruders” misbehaved with MPA Ghumman’s mother and wife and took him away. The police reportedly entered the house without search warrants and women officers.

Mr Siddiqi said the CCTV footage obtained from the area “clearly showed the policemen taking the MPA away but the police were still denying it”.

There was no official confirmation from the police about the incident during the day. When contacted, one officer responded, “No comments.”

‘Release Ghumman’

PTI chairman and former premier Imran Khan demanded the release of Mr Ghumman as he called out the government for its “fascist” tactics. He tweeted, “[I] demand immediate release of PTI MPA & Secretary General Karachi Arsalan Taj Ghuman [sic], who was abducted in early hours of this morning. All he did was mention Dirty Harry in his speech yesterday. Complete dismantling of our democracy and unravelling of rule of law.”

In a press release issued by the PTI, Ali Zaidi said MPA Ghumman was kidnapped from home this morning. “Before arresting an MPA, law enforcement agencies must seek permission from the Sindh Assembly speaker,” he said, adding that no case was filed against the lawmaker.

The MPA’s brother Imran sharing details of the incident with the media said that at 6am, officials in plainclothes entered the house after scaling the walls. “My mother said some people are entering the house. When the mother closed the door, they kicked the door and the inspector said they came to arrest Arsalan. They entered the house without a search warrant and insulted the mother and the family,” he said.

“The number plates of their vehicles were covered with black stripes. My brother’s life is in danger and [I] request the chief justice to recover Arsalan,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2023