BANNU: Police arrested PTI MNA Maulana Syed Naseem Ali Shah during a raid on his seminary, Madressah Al-Markazul Islami, in Ghoriwala area here on Monday.

The arrest came amid reports of a crackdown on PTI activists in the district.

A social media video showed the police take the lawmaker into custody and depart.

There is no official word on the reason for Mr Shah’s arrest, details of cases registered against him and his whereabouts.

The PTI condemned the lawmaker’s arrest and said that the ‘Form 47 government’ in the Centre was undermining the Constitution, the rule of law and democratic principles.

In a statement issued by its Central Media Department in Islamabad, the party said that the unlawful detention of an elected public representative was a blatant violation of the Constitution and law, an affront to the public mandate and another serious attack on democratic values.

It said that instead of upholding the rule of law, democratic traditions and fundamental rights, the Form 47 government had adopted a policy of suppressing political opponents and silencing dissent.

“The use of state power for political victimisation is unacceptable in any democratic society,” it said.

The PTI said if an elected MNA was not safe from illegal arrest and enforced disappearance, the situation facing ordinary citizens and the protection of their rights could well be imagined.

It added that forcibly taking a person into custody without fulfilling legal requirements amounted to abduction instead of a lawful arrest.

“The federal government should clarify whether the supremacy of the Constitution and law is being upheld or state power is being used against political opponents,” it said.

The PTI said that governments derived their authority from the public mandate and had a fundamental responsibility to protect the people’s rights rather than intimidate political opponents.

It added that such tactics would not suppress the voice of the people and that treating political dissent as a crime and unlawfully detaining elected representatives undermined democracy.

“The government can neither evade its constitutional and legal obligations nor can it create the impression that it is above the law,” it said.

The PTI demanded that the legal grounds for MNA Shah’s arrest and details of his current whereabouts be made public immediately.

It also called for him to be produced before a court in accordance with the law and released without delay if he is being held unlawfully.

The party demanded that those responsible for the illegal detention be identified and proceeded against in accordance with the law.

It warned that coercion, unlawful arrests and political victimisation could neither strengthen democracy nor suppress the public mandate.

“Ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution, protecting civil liberties and respecting elected representatives are fundamental responsibilities of the government,” it said.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2026