Pakistan's political tension has increased ahead of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s proposed Long March on September 27, with party leaders and members of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's family detained in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has claimed that around 1,500 party workers have been arrested, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has also said that the arrests of lawmakers and ministers have begun.
PTI leaders were allegedly picked up by plainclothes men in separate incidents in the two provinces, according to the report. The reported crackdown comes as PTI supporters prepare for the September 27 Long March, which the party has linked to demands for the release of Imran Khan, who is still in jail.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where PTI is in power, one incident involved provincial minister Fazal Shakoor Khan, who was in his vehicle around 4 PM when armed plainclothes personnel surrounded the car, the report said. One of the vehicle's tyres was shot at and Khan and his driver were taken away in a Vigo pickup truck, it said. The incident was captured on a mobile phone camera.
Another reported detention took place later in the evening involving Hashmat Khan, the son of PTI MP Zahidullah Khan in Bannu. According to the report, Hashmat Khan was taken from a petrol station at 8 PM by plainclothes officials. Both incidents have been filmed, the report says.
The action has also extended to Imran Khan's family, according to a report. His sisters Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan, along with their children, were picked up from their home in Lahore at midnight.
Another member of Imran Khan’s family, Aleema Khan, was detained by Lahore Police on Sunday morning while she was heading to a gym. She was arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order law for 30 days and taken away, the report says. Her two sons, Shershah Khan and Shahrez Khan, were also taken away from their home later that night.
The crackdown described in the report is not limited to Khan’s family or senior PTI figures. PTI MP Dawood Khan Kundi and MLA Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir were also detained by detectives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the report said. The report also mentions that several PTI lawmakers in Punjab were also detained in a similar fashion - Sanaullah Khan, Ehsan Jamal Khan and Mian Ghous Mohammad.
The allegations have just added to the tension between PTI and authorities ahead of the planned Long March. PTI leaders have consistently claimed that authorities are using arrests and other measures to contain the movement. The government and security authorities’ positions and any legal grounds for the individual detentions should be taken into account completely in the context of PTI assertions.
The report also attributes the alleged operations to officials of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) at the sector level, naming Brigadier Rizwan Sharif in Punjab and Brigadier Umar Sharif in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the culprits. While these allegations are very serious, they should not be confused with any other facts which are independently established by the authorities and hence should not be considered as proof of the allegations until proven otherwise by the authorities.
PTI is now starting to consider the possible impact of these arrests on its planned mobilisation on September 27. The party's leadership has been calling for political action to see that Imran Khan is released and the detentions of workers, politicians and even the Khan family have raised concerns about how the political environment will be before the march.
The situation is still fluid and more developments are expected as Pakistan approaches the September 27 deadline. Federal and provincial governments, as well as police authorities and other agencies, will be needed to bring the circumstances of individual arrests and detentions into focus.
