Islamabad - Islamabad police on Monday arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Raoof Hasan after the interior ministry accused the party of its involvement in anti-state propaganda.
The PTI spokesperson was arrested in a joint raid conducted by Islamabad Police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on the Central Secretariat of the party, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior.
Visuals showing the presence of police personnel in front of the Central Secretariat went viral on social media. Some video clips showed that police personnel were taking into their custody computers and IT related equipment of the secretariat and were arresting Hasan.
However, there was some confusion over the arrest until a spokesperson of the interior ministry made the confirmation.
Referring to Saturday’s arrest of PTI’s international media coordinator Ahmed Waqas Janjua, the spokesperson said that the Islamabad police and FIA conducted a joint raid on the party’s digital media wing in light of the preliminary investigation and digital content.
“PTI is involved in anti-state propaganda,” the spokesperson said, adding that a joint investigation team was being formed to probe into the matter.
Later, addressing a press conference along with Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Omar Ayub Khan and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said the police confiscated all CCTV footage during the raid
He said the party’s lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab were supposed to submit their affidavits of party affiliation with the Election Commission of Pakistan, which were present in the secretariat. Our entire record was seized, including various documents on intra-party elections, and 10 party workers are missing, he added
Gohar expressed his concerns about Hasan’s health saying he was 70 years old. Hasan has been kept in the Islamabad Police Lines and I had accompanied him there due to his bad health conditions, he added refuting some media reports that police had also arrested chairman PTI.
He alleged that PTI was being targeted with its lawmakers and their associates being abducted after the Supreme Court verdict on reserved seats.
The PTI chairman hoped that Hasan would get free if presented in the court today.