PTI leaders Barrister Gohar, Sher Marwat arrested outside Parliament House for violating rallies law

ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Sher Afzal Marwat have been arrested from Parliament House by the police for violating the newly passed  law “Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024” during the PTI public rally in Islamabad on September 8.

Meanwhile, the party Spokesperson Advocate Shoaib Shaheen has reportedly been held by the police.

The private guard of Sher Fazl Marwat has also been arrested. The police took away Sher Afzal Marwat to unidentified place.

The police sources said that other PTI leaders including Omar Ayub, Zartaj, Hammad Azhar, Kanwal Shauzab, Naeem Haider Panjutha, Amir Mughal, and Khalid Khursheed would also be arrested.

Legislators belonging to Pakistan’s ruling party have introduced a bill seeking to empower officials in the capital, Islamabad, to regulate and even ban public rallies and gatherings.

The introduction of the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024 in the Senate, the upper house of Pakistan’s parliament, on Monday came a week before the PTI public gathering in Islamabad.

The Islamabad police further said that they would detain the PTI leaders for attacking the police on Sunday during the party’s public rally, making anti-state speeches and not following the timeline for the meeting agreed with the capital civil administration.

The PTI leaders including Zain Qureshi, Waqar Akram and others went back to the Parliament House to avoid the arrest.

Despite the heavy police presence, PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan was not detained by the authorities as he left the parliament.

Large contingents of police were stationed outside the parliament, and all entry and exit points to the Red Zone were sealed off from locations such as D-Chowk, Nadra Chowk, Serena, and Marriott, with the exception of Margala Road.

Earlier on Monday night, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and other leaders including Sher Afzal Marwat, Shoaib Shaheen and Zubair Khan were arrested from Parliament House by the police for violating the newly passed  law “Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024” during the PTI public rally in Islamabad on September 8.

Meanwhile, the party Spokesperson Advocate Shoaib Shaheen has reportedly been held by the police.

The private guard of Sher Fazl Marwat has also been arrested. The police took away Sher Afzal Marwat to unidentified place.

The police sources said that other PTI leaders including Omar Ayub, Zartaj, Hammad Azhar, Kanwal Shauzab, Naeem Haider Panjutha, Amir Mughal, and Khalid Khursheed would also be arrested but they took shelter in the parliament to avoid the arrest.