PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Thursday said he was “released” after being briefly detained, with his party claiming he was held by Islamabad police.

In a post on X at 4:39pm, the PTI claimed that Raja, Latasob Satti and “others were unlawfully abducted” when they were on their way to Kotli Sattian to attend a PTI worker’s funeral. A post on Latasob’s Facebook account said his son Ikhlaq Ahmad Satti was also held.

The PTI said they were then transferred to Nilore police station in Islamabad, alleging that “abductions and arrests were ongoing to prevent people from attending the funeral”.

In a subsequent post at 5:32pm, Raja said he, Latasob, Ikhlaq and their “several friends were released after being kept in detention for four hours”.

“The only objective was to prevent us from attending late Ijaz Satti’s funeral. The fear of the public has stripped the decision-makers of their reason and sense,” the PTI secretary general contended, adding that “human rights have become meaningless”.

Latasob, a retired major, also shared a picture on X of him and the PTI leaders, saying they had been released.

PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan strongly condemned the alleged detention.

“For the last few days, about 700 workers have been arrested,” Gohar claimed, adding that arrest warrants have also been issued against MNAs and MPAs.

“This is all illegal. This must end now,” he wrote.

Earlier in the day, Raja had addressed a press conference alongside PTI leader Taimur Saleem Jhagra.

The PTI has been holding party activities to mobilise supporters for the PTI’s nationwide protest scheduled for September 27, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi touring Punjab this week.

During his visit, the KP CM not only alleged he was “abducted” by authorities in Lahore and later “thrown” by the roadside, but also claimed a man was sent to kill him.

The Punjab government had swiftly refuted the claims of arrest, while the Wazirabad police clarified that the man accused by Afridi was a police constable deployed on security duty for the CM.

The Punjab government has imposed a ban on gatherings across the province from September 13 to 17.

Earlier this week, district authorities had also issued preventive detention orders against dozens of PTI workers under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order, including 31 in one Punjab notification and a further 14 in Toba Tek Singh.

The administrations of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad had already begun preparations to counter the PTI’s announced march to the capital, including a request for the detention of activists, arranging containers, seeking additional personnel and procuring anti-riot gear.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited various checkpoints in Attock connecting Punjab to KP to review security arrangements.