PESHAWAR: Police have arrested 298 more workers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf during the last three days for their alleged involvement in violent protests held on May 9 and 10 against detention of their party’s chairman Imran Khan.

So far, more than 2018 PTI workers have been arrested in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since May 9.

According to data available with Dawn, 809 of the arrested PTI workers have been charged under Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. Police have registered 100 cases under ATA and 84 cases under other offenses. Police said that 470 persons were arrested under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

The data shows that 25 FIRs under ATA have been registered in Peshawar, 13 in Mansehra, six each in Karak, Bannu, Charsadda and Nowshera, five each in Kohat, Haripur and Lower Dir, four in Khyber, three each in Abbottabad, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan and two each in Mardan and Battagram while one each case was lodged in Swabi, Swat, Buner, Upper Kohistan, Torghar, Tank and South Waziristan.

More than 2,000 activists of the party have been arrested since May 9

“A total of 809 persons nominated in 100 cases registered under ATA have been arrested from across the province,” a police official said.

With 100 cases registered against PTI workers under ATA, 220 individuals have been arrested in Peshawar, 47 in Khyber, 48 in Mardan, 61 in Charsadda, 107 in Swabi, 153 in Dir Lower, 18 in Abbottabad, 82 in Kohat, 32 in Karak and 41 in Bannu.

Of the total 84 FIRs registered against the alleged violent protesters under other offenses, 20 were lodged in Peshawar, 13 in Mansehra, five each in Haripur, Karak and Bannu, four in Nowshera, three each in Charsadda, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Hangu and Dir Lower, two in Khyber and one each in Mardan, Swat, Buner, Upper Kohistan, Tank, South Waziristan and Torghar.

The data shows that 470 persons have been arrested under MPO in the province since May 9 including 92 individuals in Mardan alone.

It says that 67 PTI workers were arrested in Peshawar and Swabi each, 38 in Swat, 34 in Hangu, 29 in Haripur, 26 in Dir Lower, 20 in Bannu, 17 in Abbottabad, 14 in Nowshera, 12 in Karak, 10 each in Lakki Marwat and Charsadda, five each in Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan and Dir Upper, four each in Mansehra, Upper Kohistan and Orakzai, three in Lower Kohistan, two in Upper Chitral and one person was arrested under MPO in Bajaur.

Around 739 other PTI workers, allegedly involved in the violent protesters, were arrested in the cases registered for difference offences.

On May 12, an FIR was lodged at Khan Raziq Shaheed police station against 29 persons including former MNAs and MPAs Kamran Bangash, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Arbab Sher Ali, Arif Yusuf, Ishtiaq Urmar, Arbab Jahandad, Fazal Ilahi and Malik Wajid under sections 302, 324 of Pakistan Penal Code and section 7 of ATA.

Another FIR was registered at Chamkani police station against former MNAs and MPAs including Ishtiaq Urmar, Arbab Jahandad, Fazal Ilahi, Asif and Malik Wajid besides 19 other local leaders of PTI for allegedly blocking roads and damaging public property.

Officials said that police were raiding different places as PTI provincial leaders were hiding and contacting party workers and family members by using VPN.

Our correspondent in Shangla adds: Police on Sunday registered cases against 21 PTI workers for holding protest rally and firing in the air on May 11.

The FIR was registered at Aloch police station. Police said that PTI workers, shown in a video that went viral on social media, were firing in the air to celebrate release of Imran Khan on May 11. They said that 21 persons including Puran tehsil nazim Abdul Maula were nominated in the FIR for violating section 144.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2023