PTI Demands Release of All Arrested Leaders and Workers, Including Sohail Afridi

Islamabad: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Political Committee has described the arrests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, the provincial assembly speaker, other lawmakers and party workers as illegal and demanded their immediate release. The committee also called for an end to political victimisation in the name of counterterrorism operations, protection of workers’ fundamental rights and improvements in the law and order situation across the country.

In a statement issued after a meeting of the PTI Political Committee, the party said it had held a detailed discussion on the overall political, economic and law and order situation in the country. The committee termed the detention of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, the provincial assembly speaker and other elected parliamentarians illegal, saying that keeping elected public representatives in custody was an insult to democratic values and the public mandate. It demanded the immediate release of all arrested leaders and workers.

The statement also expressed concern over reports that PTI founder and former chairman Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were being transferred to hospital. It said that arrangements for their hospital transfer without taking their families into confidence were alarming and raised serious human rights concerns. The committee called for the immediate and full implementation of Supreme Court orders regarding Imran Khan’s medical treatment. It also demanded that his family be kept regularly informed about his health and that he be allowed to receive visits from relatives.

The Political Committee further stressed that appropriate medical facilities should be provided to Bushra Bibi and that she should be allowed to meet her family. The statement condemned the arrests of Imran Khan’s sisters and the treatment they had allegedly been subjected to. It demanded the release of all those detained and permission for them to meet their brother. According to the committee, denying a family the basic right to inquire about the well-being of a loved one and visit them was unacceptable.

The PTI Political Committee also expressed reservations over the arrests of Member of the National Assembly Adil Bazai and other party leaders and workers. It demanded the immediate release of all political leaders and workers arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law and said that no one should be subjected to political victimisation because of their political differences. It added that rearrests following release under court orders raised questions about the rule of law.

The statement also condemned raids and vandalism at the homes of former federal minister Omar Ayub Khan, Sher Ali Arbab and Shah Ahmed. The Political Committee said targeting the homes and families of political opponents was reprehensible. It called for an immediate end to raids on party workers’ homes, illegal arrests and harassment.

Expressing concern over the growing number of terrorist incidents in the country, the committee described terrorism as a national scourge that required effective and serious measures to eliminate. It said protecting citizens’ lives and property was a fundamental responsibility of the state. The committee stressed that counterterrorism operations must not be used for political victimisation and that the protection of the public’s and political workers’ fundamental rights must be ensured alongside efforts to maintain law and order. The meeting also criticised rising inflation and the government’s economic policies. According to the Political Committee, government policies had made life difficult for ordinary citizens, while rising food, transport and energy costs were adding to public hardship. It said persistent inflation was putting pressure on household budgets and making it increasingly difficult for people to meet their basic needs.

The PTI Political Committee also voiced concern over increases in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices and alleged profiteering. The statement claimed that although LPG was being obtained at Rs238 per kilogram, consumers were being charged as much as Rs700 per kilogram. The committee urged the relevant authorities to take immediate notice, investigate prices and take action against those involved in profiteering.

The Political Committee also called for meaningful relief for the public in the prices of petroleum products and electricity, a reduction in excessive electricity bills and additional financial burdens, and measures to make LPG and other essential commodities affordable for ordinary people. It said continuously adding to the public’s economic burden was unacceptable and that the government had a responsibility to take practical steps to bring inflation down. At the conclusion of the meeting, the PTI Political Committee reaffirmed its commitment to continuing the struggle for the release of party founder Imran Khan, the restoration of democracy, and the supremacy of the Constitution and the law.

The committee rejected reports of internal differences and divisions within the party, saying there was no factionalism in the PTI. It maintained that the entire party remained united behind its founder’s leadership, ideology and mission, and that party leaders and workers would continue their struggle to achieve their shared objectives.