ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police said on Monday they had arrested the chairman and two other members of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party on charges of violating a new law to regulate public gatherings in the Pakistani capital.
The development came a day after Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party held a rally in Islamabad to press authorities for the release of the former prime minister, who has been in jail since last August.
The government last week passed the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024 to streamline the process for obtaining permission to hold public gatherings in Islamabad and designating specific areas for such activity.
The Islamabad administration had allowed the PTI to hold the rally in Islamabad from 4pm till 7pm on Sunday, but later said in a letter to PTI Islamabad President Amir Masood Mughal that the condition had not been adhered to by the party.
“Three PTI leaders, Barrister Gohar Khan, Shoaib Shaheen and Sher Afzal Marwat were arrested today,” Islamabad police spokesperson Taqi Jawad told Arab News.
“They were arrested due to violation of new law, the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, in PTI gathering on September 8.”
The new law proposes three-year jail terms for participants of “illegal” assemblies, with ten-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Footage shared by the PTI on X showed its chairman Gohar Khan being taken away by the Islamabad police.
“The chairman of Pakistan’s largest political party with the biggest voter base, Barrister Gohar, has been arrested at the gates of Parliament along with other PTI leaders and Members of the National Assembly,” the PTI said on X.
“This shows how opposition is being suppressed using brute force.”
Khan’s PTI says it has faced a months-long crackdown since protesters linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a land graft case.
Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
“The government and the establishment have been in depression since yesterday’s rally and the leaders of Tehreek-e-Insaaf are being arrested right now,” Shahbaz Gill, a PTI member and Khan ally, said on X.
“Will all this help stop this movement? Get some sense. This is Imran Khan’s time.”
Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, faces a slew of charges and was convicted in four cases since he was first taken into custody, all of which have been either suspended or overturned by the courts. He remains in jail, however, on new charges brought by Pakistan’s national accountability watchdog regarding the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository while he was prime minister from 2018 till 2022.
The ex-premier has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s powerful military and blamed the then army leadership of orchestrating his ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022. The army says it does not interfere in political affairs.
Imran Khan party leaders arrested as crackdown begins over violations of Pakistani law on rallies
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Imran Khan party leaders arrested as crackdown begins over violations of Pakistani law on rallies
- Gohar Khan, Shoaib Shaheen and Sher Afzal Marwat arrested a day after Khan’s PTI party held a rally in Islamabad to press for his release
- The Islamabad administration on Sunday informed officials of Khan’s party they had failed to conclude their rally by appointed time
Pakistan PM leaves for Saudi Arabia on brief visit as Middle East crisis rages on
- The visit comes at a time of increased volatility in the region, following US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counterattacks
- Sharif and Crown Prince Mohammed will discuss the ongoing tensions, regional security and bilateral relations, Sharif’s office says
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday departed for Saudi Arabia on a brief, hours-long visit, his office said, amid an ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The visit comes at a time of increased volatility in the region, following Unites States-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counterattacks on US bases in several Gulf countries as well as commercial and oil infrastructure, raising the spectre of a wider war.
Sharif, expected to discuss regional security and diplomatic coordination with Saudi leaders, is visiting the Kingdom on the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the prime minister’s office.
“Sharif will meet His Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” the former’s office said.
“The meeting between the two leaders will discuss the ongoing tensions in the region, the regional security situation and the bilateral relations between the two countries.”
The development came a day after Bloomberg, citing comments from Sharif’s spokesperson, reported that Pakistan is ready to support Saudi Arabia “no matter what” as tensions escalate across the Middle East following Iranian strikes on Gulf states.
Mosharraf Zaidi told Bloomberg TV Islamabad would come to Riyadh’s aid whenever required, emphasizing the longstanding security partnership between the two countries, which was further strengthened by a mutual defense pact signed in September last year.
There was “no question we might, we will” come to Saudi Arabia’s aid “no matter what and no matter when,” Zaidi said.
“Both countries, even before the defense agreement, have always operated on the principle of being there for the other,” he added.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have historically maintained close military and strategic ties, and the new agreement elevated their security cooperation at a time of heightened regional instability.
Zaidi said Pakistan was also working diplomatically to prevent the conflict from expanding further across the region.
