In a series of coordinated operations beginning late Wednesday night, police launched extensive raids targeting members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) across several cities in Pakistan.
This crackdown followed announcements by these parties regarding a planned protest sit-in at Islamabad’s D-Chowk, scheduled for after Friday prayers.
The PTI has been staging demonstrations in various cities, including multiple locations in Lahore, outside the Islamabad Press Club, several areas in Karachi such as Clifton and Haideri, and at the Metropolitan Corporation Office in Quetta.
In response to the PTI’s activities, the police executed raids at over 60 locations in Lahore alone. They detained 110 individuals affiliated with PTI and JI.
Notably, the police raided the residence of JI Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch, arresting two individuals including Baloch’s employee. Baloch’s son, Ahmad Salman, had left to join the protest procession.
The JI’s procession from PP-169 in Lahore was intercepted on the motorway as it departed for the Islamabad sit-in. Protesters were taken into custody and transported in a police van, where they continued to shout slogans.
Additionally, the police raided the homes of PTI figures Hafiz Zeeshan and Yasir Gilani. They also conducted operations at food centers, catering services, and sound systems in Sandah and Gulshan-e-Ravi, leading to the arrest of 11 PTI workers.
In another significant move, the police raided the residence of PTI Lahore President Chaudhry Asghar Gujjar in Karim Park.
Finding Gujjar absent, they locked his outhouse. Gujjar criticized the raid as unwarranted and illegal, noting that his home had been locked without proper legal authorization.
Across Punjab, the police targeted various Jamaat-e-Islami leaders’ residences in Hasanabdal, including those of Tehsil Emir Altaf Hussain and city Emir Noorul Amin. Amin’s son and three workers were among those detained.
In Sargodha, the police raided the JI head office and detained one worker, while in Sahiwal, local Jamaat-e-Islami leaders’ homes were raided, although no arrests were made due to the absence of the individuals. In Gujranwala, the police surrounded the house of JI leader Furqan Aziz Butt, who was not present during the raid.
These extensive raids reflect growing tensions between law enforcement and opposition parties, as authorities take a firm stance against political activists in the lead-up to the planned demonstrations.
The PTI and JI are protesting for different reasons; the PTI is calling for the release of their founder and protesting against record-high inflation, while the JI is opposing increased electricity bills and taxes introduced in the 2024-25 budget.
In preparation for these protests, authorities have closed major routes into Islamabad with containers and sealed the Red Zone.
Key areas such as D-Chowk, Serena Chowk, and the Faizabad-Murree Expressway have also been barricaded. Section 144 has been imposed in Islamabad, severely restricting public gatherings and adding to the difficulties faced by residents due to the road closures.
