ISLAMABAD - Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan on Tuesday demanded the instant removal of top officials including federal secretary interior and police chief and inspector general of prisons in Punjab for the brief detention and alleged mishandling of the PTI leadership in Rawalpindi.
Speaking at a press conference at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad alongside other PTI leaders, the opposition leader condemned the alleged mistreatment of party leaders during their visit to Adiala Jail, adding that despite having a court order to meet jailed leader Imran Khan, they were made to wait for hours and then arrested.
“We went to Adiala Jail to meet (ex-premier) Imran Khan as per court orders, but police officials dragged Ahmed Khan Bachar, Shibli Faraz, and me out of our cars, which had the Pakistani flag on them,” Ayub said.
Leader of Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Malik Ahmed Bhachar, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza, former speaker NA Asad Qaiser and PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram were also present on the occasion.
The remarks of Omar Ayub came hours after the senior PTI leadership was briefly detained by Punjab Police, during their visit to jail, on charges of violation of Section 144 and then released.
Those detained included Ayub, Faraz, Bachar, Raza and Asad Qaiser.
The opposition leader sought requisition of sessions of both houses of the parliament to address this issue. He also announced plans to write to the Chief Justice of Pakistan in this regard.
He blamed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz, Inspector general (IG) of Punjab Police and home minister, and Adiala jail authorities for what he said, “their kidnapping and mistreatment”.
Speaking on the occasion, Senator Faraz expressed his sadness over the incident, stating, “We hadn’t even recovered from the shock of our members being taken from the National Assembly when this happened. This is not a joke with us, but with Pakistan’s constitution.”
Speaking on the occasion, Hamid Raza warned against treating parliamentarians like criminals and vowed that they would not tolerate and accept such humiliation.
Speaking on the occasion, Asad Qaiser said that it was not our insult but of the mandate of Pakistanis. The former speaker NA demanded that Imran Khan and all political prisoners should be released forthwith, the stolen mandate should be returned, and all stakeholders should be taken onboard to evolve a strategy for restoration of law and order situation.