Lahore, Jan 6 (PTI) Seven wedding guests were arrested in Pakistan’s Punjab province for displaying the picture of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan at the event held near a cantonment area, an official said on Tuesday. “Police have arrested seven persons – Istikhaq Ahmed, Tariq Mehmood, Kareem Bhinder, Zahid, Imran Beig, Zeeshan and Ayaz – for chanting slogans in favour of Khan and carrying his picture at a wedding function near Rahwali Cantonment, Gujranwala (some 80kms from Lahore),” Gujranwala Deputy Commissioner Naveed Ahmed said.
The police issued detention orders for seven wedding guests under Section 03 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) for a period of 14 days, Ahmed said.
The arrested men have been sent to the Gujranwala district jail.
On Monday, Punjab police booked known Qawwal Fraz Amjad Khan and his team members for singing a song titled ‘Qaidi No 804’ (Imran Khan’s cell number in jail) during a government-sponsored cultural event at the Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, on Saturday night.
According to the FIR, the singer and his team tried to “incite the public” by giving the government-sponsored event political colour, as the song is associated with the jailed Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founder Imran Khan.
A sessions court, however, granted pre-arrest bail to the singer. Khan has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases. Display of his picture, name or statement has been banned on Pakistani broadcast media. There have been several incidents in Punjab in which cases have been registered against those carrying Khan’s portraits or his party’s flag on roads. PTI MZ ZH ZH
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