QUETTA: Member of National Assembly and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Mohsin Dawar has been arrested at Quetta Airport, where he was arrived to attend the third power show of 11-party opposition, under the banner of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
Taking to Twitter, Mohsin Dawar said, “Once again our rights are being violated by state above state. I’ve been detained at Quetta airport with Nadeem Askar. Why are these risks limited to me only? We will not be intimidated.”
Once again our rights r being violated by state above state. I’ve been detained at Quetta airport with @nadeem_askar I am told its because of security risks. Why are these risks limited to me only? We refuse to be silenced like this. We will not be intimidated.#PDMJalsaQuetta
— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) October 24, 2020
According to details, the district administration stopped him at the airport and did not allow him to leave the premises on the grounds of security threats. A video went viral on social media showed MNA Dawar asking the authorities as to why the threats are a hurdle only for him.
This is the second time Dawar has been stopped in Quetta. In September, the lawmaker was stopped from entering the city and taken to a location outside Quetta by the authorities.
Meanwhile, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz has condemned the incident to barred MNA Mohsin Dawar from entering Quetta terming it ‘unfortunate’. The PML-N vice president, in a tweet, said mistreating ‘our own people’ is shameful.
محسن داوڑ کی گرفتاری انتہائی افسوسناک ہے۔ اپنے ہی لوگوں کے ساتھ ایسا سلوک شرم کا مقام ہے۔
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) October 24, 2020
BNP-Mengal chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, in a statement, said that the act of stopping Mohsin Dawar at Quetta airport was condemnable. “Guests should not be treated like this,” said Mengal.
Earlier on Thursday, a threat alert was issued for Quetta and Peshawar by the National Counter Terrorism Authority, in which the authority warned that the Pakistan Taliban could target “high-profile political personalities through a well-articulated bomb blast/suicide bombing”.
