SAHIWAL: Police arrested seven political workers for organising rallies in Sahiwal and Chichawatni cities on Tuesday.

The rallies were held in support of the release of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.

In Sahiwal, the rally took place on Madhali Road, while in Chichawatni, it was held on Mall Mandi Road.

PTI Vvice President Chaudhry Asif and PTI West Punjab President Rai Hasan Nawaz led the rallies in Sahiwal and Chichawatni, respectively. Each rally saw participation from over 100 political workers and local leaders.

Eyewitnesses reported while the police did not engage with most of the workers, they arrested five senior leaders leading the rally on Madhali Road. The arrested people were placed in a prison van and taken to the Civil Line Police Station.

Among those detained were Chaudhry Asif, PTI ticket holder; Shahbaz Khan Murdana, district vice president; Ahmed Tulha, vice president of Insaf Youth Wing of Punjab; local celebrity Rizwan Muzafar Shah and Shoukat Ali Jutt.

Three PTI workers voluntarily joined their leaders in the police van during the arrests. The rally participants were carrying PTI flags and wearing PTI caps. They chanted slogans demanding the release of Mr Khan.

In Chichawatni, MNA Rai Hasan Nawaz led a rally from Mall Mandi Mor to Gao Shalla on the Old GT Road. Over three dozen PTI political workers joined the march.

Rai Nawaz later informed Dawn by phone that the City Police, Chichawatni, had arrested two of his tehsil-level political workers, including Husnain and Amjad.

District police sources confirmed that a case had been registered against seven detained political workers.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2024