LAHORE, March 22: The police picked up most of the main leadership of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) late on Friday night ahead of its public meeting at Mochi Gate on Pakistan Day on Saturday.

Those who were taken into custody included Punjab  ARD President Qasim Zia, Lahore PPP President Mian Misbah-u-Rehman, Malik Hakmeen of the PPP and a PPP worker Javed Heera. One Saif-u-Din Saif of the JUI was arrested from his house but police released him after about half an hour later when it was cleared that he was picked up wrongly in place of Saif-u-Din Saif of the PML (Qasim). Ilyas Hafeez, a former councillor, was picked up from his house in Gulshan Ravi.

Besides, some 40 activists, mainly from the PPP, were also arrested from different parts of the city when police raided them in search of Naheed Khan of the PPP and other leaders who had gone underground.

President ARD Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was at his residence till late night and police had been deployed outside it. It is said that the police would restrict his movement and detain him in his house for the whole day on Saturday.

When contacted by phone at his residence, one Khadim, who received the call, said: “Some 100 people have been arrested from Punjab.” Nobody from the police or administration has so far talked to Nawabzada, he said.

A police source said that Punjab government had handed over a list of some 60 men to the Lahore police with directions to keep them away from the venue of the meeting at any cost. He confirmed that the arrested leadership had been shifted to the Sarwar Road police station.

However, Lahore District Police Officer (DPO) Javed Noor denied the arrests, saying there was nothing like that so far. “We have not so far arrested anybody,” he said.

But, Mian Misbah of the PPP, when contacted, said he along with Malik Hakmeen and Qasim Zia had been shifted to the Sarwar Road police station.

Further raids were continued till the filing of this report late at Friday night.