The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday alleged a robust police crackdown as they tried to exercise their democratic right to protest against perceived “rigging” in the 2024 general election.
The party asserted that this suppression aimed to hinder their rightful expression of dissent.
According to the PTI’s spokesperson, the party remained committed to pursuing legal and constitutional avenues, as well as taking their grievances to the streets to reclaim what they term their “stolen mandate” from those they believe were unjustly imposed on the country.
Having previously organized two protests following the announcement of election results, the PTI faced stiff resistance in its third nationwide protest. The party had designated protest sites in major cities such as Lahore, Multan, Vehari, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Pakpatan, Mianwali, Rawalpindi, and others.
However, the PTI now alleged a severe police crackdown on its protesting workers, sharing videos of police actions on social media as evidence.
In one video posted on X, a substantial police presence was seen at GPO Chowk in Lahore ahead of the party’s planned protest against alleged poll rigging.
Accusing Punjab police of attacking a car en route to a peaceful protest in Lahore, the PTI questioned the motives behind what they term as the intimidation of peaceful PTI protests.
They specifically target Maryam Nawaz’s government, questioning why the government appeared fearful of PTI’s peaceful demonstrations.
The PTI reported that police had arrested party workers protesting in Vehari. Furthermore, PTI South Punjab President Moin Riaz Qureshi and Multan President Malik Adnan Dogar were allegedly arrested during a peaceful protest in Multan.
A post on X by the PTI highlighted that protesters marching from the Insaf House to the Vehari Press Club against alleged poll rigging faced a police crackdown, resulting in numerous arrests. Additionally, the party claimed that Mian Tariq Mehmood, a PTI leader, was arrested during a peaceful protest in Gujranwala today.
Labeling it the “real face of Maryam Nawaz’s illegal government,” the PTI expressed discontent over what they perceived as the unwarranted arrest of their leadership merely for engaging in peaceful protests.
So far, there was no response from the police on the alleged crackdown on PTI’s protest.
