ISLAMABAD: The former ruling part , Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) continues to face a police crackdown on its leadership, as the party’s Senior Vice President Dr Shireen Mazari and President Central Punjab Dr Yasmin Rashid were arrested in a early morning raids in Islamabad and Lahore on Friday.
The police action came hours after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan that provided partial relief to PTI Chairman Imran Khan, declaring his arrest from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC) by paramilitary Rangers in the Al-Qadir Trust case as “invalid and unlawful”. The court stated that “the execution of the warrant violated Khan’s right of access to justice and the sanctity and safety of the court as he had already surrendered to the court for seeking judicial relief against the action taken by NAB in the Al Qadir Trust case.”
However, the SC ordered that Imran Khan remain at Police Lines Headquarters under police protection and allowed him to meet 10 guests subject to security checks until his production before IHC. The court also clarified that this order would not prejudice the investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
During the court proceedings, the Chief Justice of Pakistan asked Imran Khan to consider opening a dialogue channel with his political opponents to restore confidence among the people.
Following the SC order and remarks about political dialogues, the police raided the house of the former federal minister located in E/7 area of the federal capital and arrested her, as well as allegedly breaking the doors of the house. Shireen Mazari’s daughter Iman Mazari confirmed the arrest of her mother via Twitter.
— Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir (@ImaanZHazir) May 12, 2023
In another recent development, Andleeb Abbas, a party leader, confirmed that Dr. Yasmin Rashid, the party president of Central Punjab, was reportedly abducted at around 6:30 am on Friday morning. According to Abbas, Dr. Rashid was supposed to leave for Islamabad, leading a convoy of workers. However, in order to avoid arrest, she was hiding in the Cavalry Ground or Defense area, but was picked up and shifted to undisclosed location.
The arrests of Shireen Mazari and Yasmin Rashid add to the tally of several PTI leaders, including former Governor Punjab Omer Sarfraz Cheema, PTI secretary general Asad Umar, PTI Vice President Fawad Chaudhry, PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former federal minister Ali Muhammad Khan, and Ijaz Chaudhry, who have already been apprehended by police in the past three days.
