LAHORE: Despite scaling back plans for a large-scale march, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers faced a heavy-handed police response as they staged scores of small rallies in Lahore and other major cities across Punjab.

The party leadership, already under pressure owing to police raids and arrests, had called all party ticket-holders, office-bearers and supporters in Lahore hoping to stage a sizable protest. The workers made scattered attempts to bring out rallies, including the flash protest-type motorcycle and car rallies carrying party flags.

The crackdown, according to the party sources, resulted in hundreds of arrests, with more workers facing charges of obstructing roads, sloganeering against the government and resisting the authorities. The police continued raids at workers’ homes, party offices and media cells.

The police detained 11 MPAs, including deputy opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Moeen Riaz Qureshi, Iqbal Khattak, Farrukh Javed Moon, Shoaib Ameer Awan, Sardar Nadeem Dogar, Ameerullah Khan and Sardar Jatoi, who were later released after they were brought to the Punjab Assembly on the instructions of the Speaker as the House was in session.

Alleges hundreds arrested; police deny claims

According to the PTI sources, the rallies were organised in different parts of the province, including Lahore where the party managed to put up relatively better shows with rallies at Liberty Chowk led by Aliya Hamza Malik as well as at Babu Sabu Interchange and Thokar Niaz led by Begum Samira Elahi and Begum Kousar Muhammad Khan Bhatti on the instructions of party president Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.

As party leader Nadeem Butt from Gujrat brought out a rally in Model Town, the police raided and arrested all 28 protesters, including Butt himself, who was allegedly wanted in different cases.

Another major rally was brought out in the constituency of incarcerated Dr Yasmin Rashid and Zubair Niazi, who is in hiding.

Aliya Hamza Malik posted several protest rallies videos from different cities on her X handle showing party workers’ protests as they chanted slogans. She also posted a picture of her car’s smashed rear screen and it was alleged that several party leaders and protesters’ vehicles were damaged by the police.

Ms Malik tweeted from Liberty Chowk, congratulating Imran Khan and party workers for the protests despite the government’s curbs.

Addressing a press conference in the Punjab Assembly premises, deputy opposition leader Moeen Qureshi said everyone was allowed to bring out a rally to express solidarity with the Kashmiris and the 106 parliamentarians had decided to hold the Kashmir Solidarity rally. “As we started the rally, police pounded on the parliamentarians and their vehicles, bundled them in police vans and tortured,” he alleged.

Mr Qureshi alleged that police damaged 24 vehicles of the MPAs with batons.

Party leader Shaukat Basra, who also participated in different protests, condemned arrests of the party workers, saying that the sanctity of homes had been violated by a fascist regime.

PTI Punjab media cell head Shayan Bashir said the powers that be wanted to crush the PTI that fuelled the Punjab police’s crackdown on PTI leaders’ homes and offices. He said police besieged his residence and office.

Meanwhile, Lahore police said it detained more than 30 PTI activists after they took to the streets to kick off a ‘nationwide movement’ for the release of Imran Khan.

Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Faisal Kamran told Dawn.com: “More than 30 PTI activists trying to block roads in different areas of the city were taken into custody.” He denied reports that hundreds of party activists had been arrested in the provincial metropolis.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2025