Pakistani police apprehended multiple lawmakers and leaders from the party of former prime minister Imran Khan during late-night raids, a day after the party held a significant rally in the capital demanding his release, according to the party and police statements on Tuesday.
The 71-year-old former cricket star has been incarcerated for over a year since his ousting in 2022 following a rift with influential military generals, which has precipitated the most severe political crisis in decades in the economically unstable nation of 241 million people. A police spokesperson confirmed the arrest of four individuals but did not provide details on the charges. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party reported that nearly a dozen of its parliamentarians were detained in Islamabad. Others had reportedly sought sanctuary in parliament to avoid law enforcement.
PTI lawmakers staged a protest during a session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, demanding action against what they claimed was the unlawful entry of law enforcement personnel into the parliament premises. "Plainclothes individuals entered parliament and arrested people's representatives — this is an assault on Pakistan's democracy," stated PTI legislator Ali Muhammad.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announced an investigation into the complaints, which, if substantiated, could lead to legal repercussions. He ordered all detained lawmakers to be returned to parliament. Media footage depicted police forcibly placing the lawmakers into vehicles outside parliament, a scene described as "despicable" by Omar Ayub Khan, the party's opposition leader.
"Yesterday's massive protest has sent shivers down the government's spine," commented Khan's aide Zulfikar Bukhari on X, labeling the detentions as illegal. Party chairman Gohar Khan was among those arrested, according to Bukhari, who also serves as a party spokesperson.
Candidates supported by the PTI secured the most seats in the general election in February but fell short of the majority needed to form a government. Instead, Khan's rivals united to establish a coalition under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The crackdown occurred a day after the PTI rally on the outskirts of Islamabad, which was disrupted by clashes between supporters and police that injured a senior police official.
The PTI alleged that the violence erupted after police fired tear gas at a peaceful gathering to disperse it. Some party leaders, like Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, criticized the ruling alliance and the military during speeches at the rally. "Put your house in order," he advised the military, cautioning against any attempt at a military trial for Khan. "I am not scared of the army uniform."
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accused Gandapur of threatening to free Khan from jail by force and inciting supporters to engage in violence.
