PTI leaders announce public gathering on eve of Pakistan Day, call for release of arrested members

PTI leaders Salman Akram Raja and Sardar Latif Khosa were arrested Sunday as workers staged nationwide protests against alleged rigging in 8 February elections and stealing of mandates.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf protestors gather during a protest, demand free and fair results of the elections | Representative image | Reuters

Islamabad: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced that it hold a public gathering in the country’s capital on the eve of Pakistan Day on March 23, reported ARY News.

Addressing the party’s protest demonstration in the state capital, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat said they would approach the Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad to seek permission for the gathering.

“If the administration rejects our request, the PTI will move to the Islamabad High Court,” he said.

Marwat added that it was their right to hold a ‘peaceful’ protest as per the constitution, ARY News reported.

He further called on the authorities to immediately release the PTI leaders and workers, who were arrested during their nationwide protest against alleged rigging in the general elections.

Earlier, on Sunday, PTI leaders Salman Akram Raja and Sardar Latif Khosa were arrested as workers staged nationwide protests against alleged rigging in the February 8 elections and stealing of mandates, according to ARY News.

Following the arrest, the PTI leaders and workers took to the streets across Pakistan and held rallies in various cities, including Punjab, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, along with protests in Karachi, Kandhkot, and other places.

A PTI spokesperson said the nation would never accept the “proven, most corrupt persons as the president and prime minister of the country against their will”.

The Pakistan daily reported that the protests were held on the call of PTI founder Imran Khan against the “manipulation of election results and stealing” of the PTI’s mandate in the recent elections.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister demanded a judicial commission to probe the alleged tampering of the election results.

In Lahore, police arrested several protesting PTI workers from GPO Chowk as authorities deployed a heavy contingent of security personnel on the city’s Mall Road and other areas.

During the protests, PTI-backed Punjab Assembly lawmakers Hafiz Farhat Abbas and Mian Haroon Akbar were reportedly arrested by the police.

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.