Salman Akram Raja, a top lawyer and PTI leader, was arrested
Salman Akram Raja, a prominent lawyer and PTI politician, was taken into custody on Saturday in Lahore after the party denounced suspected election manipulation on February 8.
Raja, surrounded by police, security officers, and media representatives, declared he stood “with the people of Pakistan” while being led by the police to their car.
“I am with the people of Pakistan”
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Salman Akram Raja’s statement before his unlawful arrest by police: pic.twitter.com/HJqAWDT1og
— PTI (@PTIofficial) February 17, 2024
PTI chairman Barrister Gohar declared on February 15 that nationwide protests against alleged election manipulation would begin this Saturday, or today.
He encouraged all political parties to join the demonstration in support of democracy, the rule of law, and freedom, including Jamaat-e-Islami, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, the Grand Democratic Alliance, the Awami National Party, and anyone who feel their mandate was stolen.
Together, PTI and JI oppose poll-rigging.
Significantly, representatives of the Jamaat-e-Islami party and a team from the PTI met last night. Both parties announced a combined protest over apparent irregularities and voiced worries about the alleged rigging of the recent general elections.
Following the discussion, PTI leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser spoke to the media and said that the two parties’ only goal at this moment was to protest what they perceived to be “rigged” elections.
Qaiser underscored that the purported degree of electoral manipulation is unparalleled, necessitating joint efforts from the parties that have voiced their opposition to it.
“We have made the decision to meet with every group that spoke out against the rigging. We’ll get together and discuss our options for the next move. We won’t hold meetings in private to make decisions. The nation is currently heading into instability, and we’ll be battling the law,” Qaiser stated.
He called for participation in the nonviolent protest, a nationwide event that is set to take place on Saturday. Qaiser emphasized the dedication to bolstering democracy and gave assurances that the fight against purported election tampering will go on.
PTI demonstrators are detained
After its employees and supporters took to the streets across the country last week to accuse the system of electoral bribery and result manipulation in the general elections, the PTI found itself under fire once more.
Many PTI employees, officials, candidates, supporters, and voters organized in a variety of constituencies, accusing one another of manipulating election results in order to weaken their democratic mandate.
Lahore, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Sumundari, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Mansehra, Peshawar, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Karachi, and other places saw a proliferation of demonstrations.
In response, provincial governments stationed sizable police units in the majority of these regions where the party called for protests to express their opposition to purported efforts to subvert the popular mandate granted to the country’s most notable political organization.
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