CHITRAL: The police booked 19 leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and arrested two of them here on Monday over their unlawful assembly.

The district magistrate imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure a week ago banning the assembly of four or more people in a place.

Station house officer of Drosh police station Haider Hussain told Dawn that a case was registered against the PTI leaders and workers under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code for holding a gathering outside the house of senior party leader Razitu Billah despite the ban.

He said holding a political gathering was tantamount to challenging the authority of the government.

The SHO said the magistrate had slapped the ban over “threat to peace in the area.”

He said two of the nominated PTI leaders, including Zar Khan andFarhad, had been arrested, while the rest were at large.

The senior PTI leaders named in the FIR included Razitu Billah, Syed Farid Ahmad Jan, Haji Sultan Mohammad, Khwaja Aftab, Sameenullah, and Abdul Aziz.

Meanwhile, three residents of Chitral region have been named by political parties, including the PTI and Awami National Party, for provincial assembly seats reserved for non-Muslims and women in the top three positions in the order of priority.

Khadija Bibi was placed by the ANP as the first priority for women’s seats.

She had polled 7,000 votes for the office of Drosh tehsil chairman in the last local body election. She has also been awarded a party ticket to contest the next election for the general seat for NA-I Chitral.

The PTI has nominated Wazirzada Kalash, a former MPA and special assistant to the chief minister, for the provincial assembly’s reserved seat for non-Muslims by declaring him its priority No 1.

Former woman Fauzia Bibi has beennamed by the PTI as its priority No 3 for the PA’s seats reserved for women.

She had filed a defamation lawsuit against PTI founder Imran Khan over the allegation of horse-trading in the 2017 Senate elections. She was expelled from the party.

Ms Bibi later withdrew the case after reaching a compromise with the party’s leadership, which promised her election ticket for one of the PA seats reserved for women.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2023