PTI leader claims caretaker set-up being controlled by PM Shehbaz n PTI leaders, workers arrested from Lahore shifted to jails in Punjab’s far-flung areas n Petitions filed in LHC for production of party leaders.

LAHORE    -   Much to the dismay of the PTI leadership, the party leaders and workers who had court­ed arrest in Lahore on Wednes­day on the first day of “Jail Bha­ro Tehreek” have been shifted to different jails in the far-flung areas of Punjab. 

The PTI leaders and the jail au­thorities have confirmed that 73 PTI leaders and workers have been shifted to different jails in Rajanpur, Layyah, Bhakkar and Attock districts a day after they were sent to Kot Lakhpat jail in La­hore. As per details, Shah Mah­mood Qureshi has been shifted to Attock Jail; Asif Umar to Ra­janpur jail, Azam Swati to Ra­him Yar Khan jail; Senator Walid Iqbal to District Jail Layyah; Mu­rad Raas to Dera Ghazi Khan jail; Umar Sarfaraz Cheema to Dis­trict Jail Bhakkar and Muham­mad Madni to Bahawalpur jail.

In a related development, pe­titions have been filed in the La­hore High Court for releasing the detained PTI leaders who vol­untarily surrendered them­selves to police on Wednesday last. In one of the petitions, Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s son Zain Qureshi has sought physical produc­tion of his father who, according to him, was being kept in wrongful con­finement. He also stated in his appli­cation that he was not being informed about the whereabouts of his father. 

PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhry also filed applications in the Lahore High Court for the recovery of eight PTI lead­ers, Waleed Iqbal, Senator Azam Swa­ti, Murad Ras, Omar Sarfaraz Cheema, Jan Madni, Azam Niazi and Ahsan Dog­ar. In his petition, Ejaz Chaudhry has made Additional Chief Secretary (home), Inspector General of Punjab and Capital City Police Officer parties in the case.

The PTI Senator in his petition has al­leged that party leaders were not being provided medicines and food. He fur­ther stated that leaders were being kept in wrongful detention. He also feared that t fake cases could be institut­ed against them. Ejaz Chaudhry plead­ed that there was no reason to keep them under confinement. He also sought production of party leaders be­fore the LHC. The cases have been fixed for hearing before Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry for Friday(Today). 

Meanwhile, Pakistan Teh­reek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Im­ran Khan Thursday said that the PTI leaders and workers were be­ing treated like terrorists in the jails. In a televised address to the party work­ers, the PTI Chairman said that those who presented themselves for arrests during a court arrest drive were being kept separately in far flung jails in Punjab.Imran Khan said that they were po­litical inmates which should be kept in a separate barrack to scare them.The PTI chairman said that the gov­ernment had resorted to such bru­tal tactics to terrify the PTI leaders and workers; but the cable of crooks would not succeed in their plan. He said that a huge number of people came out of their homes in Peshawar, which showed that PTI workers were not afraid of jail. Imran Khan stated that had they been scared of detention they would not have taken to streets in such a massive number, adding that they would see a similar demonstra­tion in Rawalpindi on Friday (Today). “If we do not adopt a peaceful way of protest, then the nation will be enraged and it will be disastrous,” he remarked.

Regarding previous arrests and de­tentions, Imran Khan said that Par­vaiz Elahi’s secretary was missing so far and no one knew about his where­abouts. A close relative of Moonis Ela­hi was abducted and brutally tortured. He said that Parvaiz Elahi has been given the position of president in his honour after his inclusion in the PTI.He slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) once again. Khan said that they had never seen this kind of election commission so far. He alleged that ECP formed an anti-PTI caretak­er set-up. Khan said that PTI had for­warded the names of 23 government officers for stopping their deputa­tions due to their alleged involvement in the May 25 incident. He added that the commission had deputed all those officers despite PTI’s reservations.Khan further said that the care­taker set-up was being controlled by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whereas, Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s instructions were being followed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).“Both caretaker set-ups are partial to target the PTI. The caretaker set-up is doing everything except free and fair elections. If elections are delayed, then what will be the legal position of the caretaker set-up after 90 days?” He said that the record of the Joint In­vestigation Team (JIT) regarding the Wazirabad gun attack had vanished.Imran Khan reiterated that the elec­tion was the only solution to end the crisis in the country.