The PTI on Tuesday claimed arrests of a party leader and “several” workers as they took to the streets to officially kick off a nationwide movement for the release of ex-premier Imran Khan, who has been in jail for two years now. Imran, imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023 in a case related to state gifts, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials in alleged terrorism cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots.

 Imran had issued a nationwide protest call, which was set to reach its “peak” on August 054 to mark the second year of his incarceration. According to PTI leader Asad Qaiser, August 5 is the inception of the protest, but it should not be considered a “final call”. “An elder like Rehana Dar is being dragged by the shameless Punjab Police, a disgraceful sight,” the PTI said on its official X account. 

It shared a video showing Dar, who contested the 2024 general elections in Sialkot against PML-N’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, being dragged into a police van by personnel with riot gear. The PTI said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Punjab Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar “have sunk to a new low with this act” and “abandoned all sense of shame and decency”. 

In another post on X, the PTI’s Bahawalpur account claimed “several” of its workers who had gathered in Balochistan’s Kohlu district for a protest were arrested. The PTI’s Multan chapter alleged that its Lahore rally was “attacked by police”, with multiple vehicles participating in facing damage. Visuals shared by it showed the back window of a car shattered with a hole in it.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)