Rawalpindi (Web Desk): Several senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza Khan were released after a brief detention by Punjab police for violating Section 144 when they went to visit party founder and former premier Imran Khan at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
The arrested PTI leaders included Omar Ayub, former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Shibli Faraz, Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, along with SIC head Sahibzada Hamid Raza.
The group had arrived at the jail to meet with Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated for over a year, to discuss political affairs and strategies.
In a post on X, PTI strongly condemned the arrests, stating: “Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Asad Qaiser, Ahmed Bhachar, Sahibzada Hamid Raza have been detained outside Adiala Jail for simply exercising their lawful right to meet with Imran Khan, as allowed by the law.”
The statement underscored that such meetings have become a routine practice for PTI leaders who regularly meet Khan in prison to coordinate their political activities.
The SIC, led by Raza, is a close ally of PTI, and several PTI members also serve as representatives of the SIC in parliament.
This collaboration between PTI and SIC has been a cornerstone of their political strategies, and the delegation’s visit was seen as another step in strengthening their alliance.
Although the majority of the delegation was detained, Aliya Hamza Malik, another member of the group, was present but not arrested.
As per the sources, she was standing at a distance from the other leaders and was not involved in the incident that led to their detention.
The arrests draw strong reactions from PTI, with party officials arguing that the police action represents an unjustified interference with their political rights.