LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA Barrister Sahibzada Ameer Sultan was allegedly abducted by unidentified people from his Lahore cantonment residence in the wee hours of Sunday.

Family sources say they are still unaware about the whereabouts of Barrister Sultan. The PTI MNA was elected from NA-110, Jhang.

However, Lahore Cantt SP Awais Shafiq said Barrister Sultan had not been arrested by the police, nor did they have any information about his supposed abduction. “Police will launch its investigation after Barrister Sultan’s relatives submit their application to Sarwar Road police station,” he said.

Strongly reacting to the ‘kidnapping’ of its MNA, PTI condemned the incident and said the party’s lawmakers would not bow down to the tactics.

Party leaders condemn move, urge courts to take notice of the alleged kidnapping

The party said its MNA had been picked up so that he could not submit his party affiliation affidavit to the PTI as was required by the Election Comm­ission of Pakistan. The party demanded that Barrister Sultan be presented before courts.

PTI sources told Dawn that Barrister Sultan and his brother MNA Mahboob Sultan had got an NOC from courts to fly abroad following a report of law-enforcement agencies that they were not wanted in any case.

Former speaker of National Assembly Asad Qaiser said PTI MNA Sultan had been abducted, and it seemed the government was heading towards a clash by rejecting the court decisions.

Mr Qaiser warned against the violation of Constitution and law of the land. In a post on X, he said the powers that be is taking decisions unilaterally and pushing lawmakers to change their loyalties. “You should not take the country towards disintegration,” the PTI leader warned, adding that PTI workers would continue their struggle to protect the country and its Constitution. The party would not backtrack from its stance and it would ensure that the party MNAs take decisions respecting wishes of their voters, he said.

He urged the Supreme Court to decide the Form-45 and Form-47 dispute at the earliest, adding that the chief election commissioner had played a key role in the “massive post-election rigging”. He also demanded the CEC’s resignation following the SC verdict on reserved seats.

He hinted that he would request Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to approach the judicial commission against the chief election commissioner.

The PTI from its official X handle termed Barrister Sultan’s ‘abduction’ the Punjab government’s attempt to hinder implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgement. It alleged that the Punjab police chief was picking up lawmakers as if they were criminals, pointing out that lawmakers were representatives of millions of people.

“The Supreme Court and high courts should take notice of the ‘abduction’,” PTI leader Sheikh Waqas Akram said.

Opposition leader

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly and PTI secretary general Omar Ayub Khan alleged that MNA Barrister Sultan had been abducted by the Punjab police and personnel of spy agencies after torturing his staff on Friday at 4am.

Mr Khan tweeted that MNA Mian Fayyaz’s younger brother Engineer Imtiaz was also ‘abducted’ by the Punjab police and personnel of intelligence agencies. “I had already tweeted two days ago that Shehbaz Sharif is using the ISI, MI and IB to abduct PTI MNAs,” he wrote.

He said the spymasters should desist from interfering in political matters and should concentrate on the increased India-sponsored terrorism inside Pakistan.“You will be called to account for the increased terrorism because you are interfering in political matters and neglecting your core responsibilities,” the opposition leader said while directly addressing the heads of intelligence agencies.

The PTI secretary general also urged all MNAs and MPAs of the party to ensure they and their families stay at safe locations.

Meanwhile, PTI MNA Mian Fayyaz Hussain Chajra, whose son and brother were allegedly picked up by police on Saturday, submitted his affidavit to PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan in Lahore on Sunday.

PTI MNA Jamshed Ahmad Dasti also submitted his affidavit to Gohar Ali Khan while two other party MNAs Dr Shabbier Qureshi and Sardar Moazzam Khan Jatoi were yet to submit their affidavits to PTI leadership.

Mr Chajra also posted on social media a picture of him submitting his affidavit to the party chairman.

Malik Tehseen Raza in Muzaffargarh also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2024