ISLAMABAD: The PTI leadership on Wednesday denounced the “abduction” of party MNA Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood, saying it was high time to take to the streets to rein in the “reign of terror” unleashed on PTI and its elected representatives.

Speaking at a presser, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said unknown masked men forced their entry to Mr Mehmood’s Multan residence by breaking the doors and harassed the family members and took him away.

He said they knew nothing about the MNA’s whereabouts but some in his family believed he had been taken to the “big house” in Islamabad.

He recalled that Imran Khan’s focal person Intazar Panjutha was abducted in a similar fashion last month and left on a road in a deplorable condition.

Party warns of protest, urges CJP to intervene

The PTI chief stated that initially Mr Mehmood’s Taunsa Sharif residence was vandalised, and then masked individuals entered his Multan home to abduct him.

Mr Mehmood, who was elected from Taunsa Sahrif, has been away from his home for a month to avoid arrest.

Sources said that he had returned to attend the wedding of his uncle MPA Khawaja Salahuddin’s son.

Barrister Gohar called upon the National Assembly speaker to take notice of the incident, because Mr Mehmood was not only a member of the lower house but also chairman of a standing committee.

Assailing the government, he said fascism must come to an end immediately and called upon the chief justice of Pakistan to take swift action against the incident.

He highlighted that on Jan 3, the Supreme Court had ruled that no individual should be taken from their home without a warrant, unless nominated in the FIR.

“I brought this issue to the prime minister’s notice, but our MNAs are still arrested,” he regretted. He recalled that a committee was formed to protect parliamentarians after the abduction of PTI lawmakers from parliament house, but to no avail.

Under these circumstances, he maintained, the party was left with no option but to hold protest.

PTI Secretary General Barrister Salman Akram Raja, Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram and party MNA Faisal Amin were also present.

Mr Raja claimed that the world was looking at Pakistan in horror because the country has become a lawless state, where only abduction was the law of the land, which was being used as a tool to coerce and to cause vote take place in the NA and Senate. Everything else seemed to be irrelevant, he added.

Mr Raja said what happened to Mr Mehmood was horrifying as such incidents are now happening frequently and added that Mr Panjutha’s abduction was a case in point.

Sharing details, Mr Akram revealed that Mr Mehmood’s house was raided at around 11pm on Tuesday when he was taking a bath, adding that the masked men held his family at gunpoint.

He said Mr Mehmood was only allowed to wear his shoes, adding that his hands were tied and his face was covered in front of his wife.

Quoting Mr Mehmood’s wife, he said the masked men were accompanied by police personnel.

“They forcibly opened the children’s door and showed them that they were taking their father away to further traumatise them,” he lamented.

“We fail to understand why incidents like this are happening even after passage of the 26th amendment and six bills,” he wondered.

He demanded MNA Mehmood’s safe release at the earliest and warned of strong protest if he was not freed.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2024