LAHORE: The PML-N has announced that its leaders will not seek pre-arrest bail in the sedition case.

Lahore police, under its new ‘controversial’ chief Umer Sheikh, on Monday instituted a case against PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, Azad Kashmir prime minister Raja Farooq Haider, former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, PML-N information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb, secretary general Ahsan Iqbal, Punjab president Rana Sanaullah and other leaders of the party who attended the party meetings addressed by Mr Sharif from London via a video link.

“We will not seek a pre-arrest bail. If the PTI government has courage, it should come forward and arrest us,” Ms Aurangzeb dared the government while speaking to Dawn on Monday. She asked the PTI ministers to stop hiding behind ‘anonymous and frivolous FIRs’ and file the same with their own names.

Mr Abbasi told a presser in Islamabad that the FIR had been registered with the Shahdara Police Station in Lahore by one Badar Rashid who had no occupation.

“This FIR is registered at 2:25am against two former prime ministers, the National Assembly Opposition Leader, former speaker National Assembly, former deputy speaker National Assembly, two former defence ministers, a former foreign minister, 16 members of the former cabinet and three retired lieutenant generals for plotting mutiny against the country,” he said, adding that according to the FIR, this act of mutiny was even bigger than Pindi Conspiracy, Agartala Conspiracy and all preceding acts of mutiny.

PPP, JI come out in PML-N leaders’ support

“If talking about the supremacy of the Constitution is mutiny, it will happen every day. The opposition hasn’t even started its campaign against the destruction by the PTI government and it (the government) has already resorted to such lowly tactics,” he said.

He also challenged the PTI ministers to come forward and mention their names in the FIR instead of hiding behind frivolous characters. He advised Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to stay out of this dirty game.

Ahsan Iqbal said the results of this dangerous game of labeling people as traitors had already been witnessed in the East Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. He said this new tactic by the government was aimed at distracting the people from the fact that there was another electricity and gas bomb waiting for them.

PPP: The PPP leaders in Punjab have come out in support of the PML-N leaders after the sedition case was filed against them, terming it political vendetta by the PTI government.

PPP Central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira says ‘false’ treason cases and arrests indicate that the incumbent rulers have no ground to stand on.

In a statement, he said the formation of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has worried the ruling party, which had begun registering ‘false’ treason cases against its political rivals. He said the opposition would not be deterred by such tactics as its leaders would go down to the district level for mobilising the masses against the inept government.

Former governor and PPP South Punjab President Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan had robbed the people of basic amenities only to benefit the mafias.

JAMAAT: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) also condemned the government for registration of sedition cases against its political opponents, saying the move would put an adverse impact on the already tainted image of the ruling party.

Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, JI Secretary General Ameerul Azim said the anti-corruption drive had already received the tag of a politically motivated campaign and in addition to this the ruling party had started booking its opponents on sedition charges.

“The real traitor is sitting in Dubai. He broke the constitution and he had been declared traitor by the apex court,” said Mr Azim, giving a reference to former military dictator Pervez Musharraf.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2020