PTI Leaders and SIC Chief Released After Brief Detention for Violating Section 144

Babar Khan November 13, 2024

Punjab police released top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Hamid Raza on Monday after a brief detention for allegedly violating Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). PTI leaders Omar Ayub and Asad Qaiser, along with SIC chief Hamid Raza, were taken into custody outside Adiala Jail, where they had gathered to meet PTI founder Imran Khan.

Imran Khan, the former prime minister, has been imprisoned for over a year, with PTI leaders regularly meeting him to discuss political strategies. Raza’s SIC, a PTI ally, has its members shown as part of PTI in parliament. Aliya Hamza Malik, also present at Adiala Jail, was not detained as she stood at a distance from the others.

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Prior to his arrest, Ayub, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, told reporters that they had arrived after receiving court permission to meet Khan. Speaking to the media, Shibli Faraz, the Opposition Leader in the Senate, explained that the visit aimed to discuss the party’s protest strategy and future political plans with Khan.

Police officials cited the leaders’ violation of Section 144, which had been imposed in Rawalpindi ahead of a planned PTI rally, as the reason for the arrests. PTI issued a statement condemning the detentions as “unjust” and demanded their immediate release, stating that the leaders were “simply exercising their right to meet with Imran Khan, as permitted by law.”

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi issued an arrest warrant for PTI leader Sheikh Waqas Akram over his failure to appear in court for two terrorism-related cases filed in Hassan Abdal, Attock district. PTI leaders have faced a series of similar detentions and legal actions in recent months, with some, including PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar and MNA Sher Afzal Marwat, briefly detained in Islamabad in September during a rally but later released.

The detention and release of PTI’s top leadership come amid heightened political tensions. PTI has recently announced a “do-or-die” protest to secure Khan’s release and restore judicial independence, further intensifying the polarization between the party and the ruling coalition. Last week, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur vowed at a public gathering in Swabi to secure Khan’s release, declaring that PTI supporters were “ready to sacrifice their lives” for their leader.

With PTI mobilizing supporters for what it describes as a final protest push, political tensions are set to escalate, adding pressure to the already strained relationship between PTI and the ruling government.