SWABI: The relative of a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPA and husband of a woman lawmaker were arrested here on Tuesday as personnel of law-enforcement agencies raided the houses of the party’s legislators in the district.

It was learnt that the PTI lawmakers and party leaders went into hiding to evade arrest when the emergency and governor’s rule were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

When contacted, relatives of MPA Abdul Karim told Dawn that his residence in Tordher village had been locked by law-enforcement agencies and the police were present at his hujra (guestroom).

Police also raided the house of Rahim Khan in the same village, who was the right-hand man of MPA Abdul Karim, but he was not present at home. However, Rashid Hussain, a relative of the MPA, was picked up when he came out of his residence adjacent to Rahim’s house.

MPA among three held in Mardan; two PTI workers detained in Bajaur

MPA Abdul Karim’s brother, Abdul Nasir, and his three security guards were allegedly picked up before the imposition of the governor’s rule and emergency and their whereabouts are not known. Mr Karim has gone into hiding.

Israel Shah, husband of MPA Khatoon Bibi, was arrested at his residence in Gohati village and shifted to an undisclosed location.

Police conducted raids to arrest MNA Shahram Khan Tarakai, his brother and provincial minister Faisal Khan Tarakai and their cousin, MPA Murtaza Khan Tarakai in Tarakai village, but they were not present at home.

The house of former mayor Attaullah Khan was also raided in Marghuz, but he was not present there.

Attaullah is said to be a relative of PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser. The whereabouts of dysfunctional minister Aqibullah Khan, who is Qaiser’s brother, are not known.

The residence of Sohail Yousafzai, PTI district president, was also raided in Maini village, but he had already left the house.

Meanwhile, Jehanzeb Khan, PTI tehsil president, said in a social media video on Tuesday that they were ready to surrender within three days and the police should stop raiding their houses.

In Mardan, MPA Abdul Salam Afridi, the son of former provincial revenue minister Tariq Aryani, PTI district leader Lakhkar Khan Hoti and his brother Nazim Daryab Khan were arrested in separate raids in the district.

Police also raided the hujras of Iftikhar Ali Mashwani, Zahir Shah Toru, and Tariq Aryani, but they managed to evade arrest.

In Bajaur, police raided the houses of PTI leaders and lawmakers to arrest them, party workers said.

In separate posts on social media, they claimed that police continued raiding the houses of party figures, including lawmakers, in Bajaur.

“Police raided our house in the Raghan area today to arrest me and my father, and this time some policewomen were also part of the raiding party,” said Sikandar Zeb Khan, the elder son of MPA Anwar Zeb Khan, in a social media post.

He added that the police failed to arrest them as they were not at home.

Party sources claimed that PTI MPAs Dr Hamidur Rehman, Eng Ajmal Khan and PTI local chapter president Gul Dad Khan, former MNA Gul Zafar Khan, Akhtar Gul and Mohsin Khan were among those whose houses were raided. However, they noted that police failed to arrest any of them as they were not present at home.

The PTI claimed that police arrested two of its senior workers, including PTI Nawagai tehsil president Abdul Wahab and former Nakahtar village council chairman Mohammad Ali Jan, during raids.

However, police have yet to comment on the arrest of PTI workers.

Meanwhile, PTI workers on Tuesday staged a demonstration against the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in the province in the Memola area of Barang tehsil.

The demonstration, led by PTI MPA Ajmal Khan, was attended by scores of party workers. The protesters, who chanted slogans against the federal government for the ‘undemocratic’ step, vowed to continue their peaceful struggle against the move.

Meanwhile, police sources confirmed on Tuesday that police security had been withdrawn from PTI local lawmakers and their close family members.

However, the sources did not mention the exact number of police personnel withdrawn from the PTI MPAs and party leaders.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026