LAHORE: Amidst escalating tensions, dozens of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers were reportedly arrested in Lahore for engaging in protests. In response, PTI leader Latif Khosa asserted on Monday that the party would persist in holding demonstrations until their electoral “mandate” was restored. Speaking to the media in Lahore, Khosa emphasized the sole demand of conducting an audit of election results, asserting that the government could move forward if the mandate was reinstated.
Khosa further demanded the release of PTI founder, and leaders, particularly female leaders, and workers. He claimed that the police had assaulted PTI’s workers and stressed that the party would continue its protests to uphold the people’s right to self-governance and elect their representatives. Khosa even threatened to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the police for kidnapping.
In response to the arrest of PTI workers, Khosa questioned the authorities and asked the police to disclose on whose orders they were carrying out actions against political activists. He described his own experience at the police station, where he was made to sit for six hours in the station house officer’s room but admitted that no police official misbehaved with him. Khosa asserted his status as a sitting Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and emphasized that he could not be arrested without the National Assembly speaker’s permission.
Earlier, around 40 PTI leaders and workers were booked on serious charges, including terrorism, abduction, interference in public affairs, and harassment. The charges were filed in the aftermath of PTI supporters staging a protest on Lahore’s Mall Road against alleged rigging in the general elections of 2024.
The First Information Report (FIR) claimed that PTI leader Hafiz Farhat Abbas incited activists to damage public properties, leading to clashes with the police. The FIR also mentioned the recovery of weapons and batons from the arrested individuals.
These events unfolded as PTI leaders, including Latif Khosa and Salman Akram Raja, were taken into custody during countrywide protests staged by the party against alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections. The protests have intensified amid allegations of election manipulation and the purported theft of PTI’s mandate.
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