Punjab police won't arrest any PTI leader or worker without provocation
Pakistan
According to police, two jails in Lahore cannot accommodate more prisoners
LAHORE (Web Desk) - The Punjab police will not arrest any PTI leader or activist without provocation today, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday.
In a statement, he said the arrests could be made if someone took law into hand. In case of arrests, the police would shift the workers to jails of other districts, he added.
According to police, two jails in Lahore cannot accommodate more prisoners.
The police statement has come after the PTI leadership announced 'Jail Bharo Tehreek' from Lahore today. A large number of workers have started reaching Zaman Park and and Charing Cross (Faisal Chowk) for surrendering them before the authorities.
The movement [court arrest drive] is aimed to push for election and protest economic instability and the alleged crackdown on party leaders and workers.
Meanwhile, PTI senior vice president Shah Mahmood Qureshi and general secretary Asad Umar have also decided to give their arrest on the first day of the movement.
A key meeting was held by the governing body of the PTI’s Central Punjab wing to finalise the strategy for the movement that would start from the provincial capital and later it would be extended to the other parts of the country. Peshawar will witness the launch of movement on Feb 23 while it will be started in Multan on Feb 25, Gujranwala on Feb 26, Sargodha on Feb 27, and Sahiwal on Feb 28. It will hit Faisalabad city on March 1.
The social media handles of the party are busy to motivate the supporters for the drive as messages from party leaders are being shared time to time. Mr Khan in a video message a day earlier urged the supporter to fill up the prisons and broke the idols of fears.
This is the latest strategy of the PTI after it staged a long march and held rallies in multiple cities following the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister through a no-confidence vote in April last.
In the first phase, PTI central leaders Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal, Murad Raas along with 200 workers will surrender before the authorities at the Charing Cross, Lahore at 2:00 pm.
Before heading to the Mall Road, a ceremony will be held at the Zaman Park. The PTI leaders and workers will stage a sit-in at Charing Cross Mall Road if the government refused to arrest them.
