RAWALPINDI, MULTAN, LAHORE: On the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC), prison authorities have released all Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) leaders and workers who were arrested during the party’s court arrest on Saturday in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Multan.
Deputy Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Secretary General Asad Umar, and former Punjab governor Umar Sarfraz Cheema were among those released from Attock, Rajanpur, and Bhakkar jails, respectively.
ہمیں یقین ہے چشمہ یہیں سے نکلے گا، مرکزی سیکرٹری جنرل اسد عمر جیل سے رہائی رہا۔کارکنان کا پرجوش استقبال #آرہا_ہے_کپتان @Asad_Umar pic.twitter.com/s0mGejUYaV
— Memoona (@memoonashahid) March 4, 2023
A total of 435 party leaders and activists courted arrest throughout Punjab, and as many as 83 party workers, including Umar, were released from District Jail, Rajanpur.
The opposition party’s activists who courted arrest were to be detained for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
After being released from jail, Umar expressed his pride in being part of the campaign and emphasized the need to end decision-making behind closed doors.
“Salutations to all those workers of PTI who endured the hardships of jail for the true freedom movement of 220 million people but their morale is still so high. Long live party workers, long live Pakistan,” he tweeted.
تحریک انصاف کے ان تمام ورکرز کو سلام جنہوں نے 22 کروڑ کی حقیقی آزادی کی تحریک کے لئے جیل کی صعوبتیں برداشت کی لیکن ان کے حوصلے اب بھی اتنے ہی بلند ہیں۔ تحریک انصاف ورکرز زندہ باد، پاکستان پائندہ باد
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) March 4, 2023
Senator Azam Khan Swati, who was released from Raheem Yar Khan district jail, called for an end to political engineering.
In addition to Umar and Swati, PTI leaders Zulfi Bukhari and Fayyaz ul-Hasan Chauhan were released from Sargodha jail, and several others, including Cheema, Azam Khan Niazi, Sadaqat Abbasi, and Ejaz Khan, were also among those released.
Welcome back @OmarCheemaPTI . You hardwork and sacrifice will pay off InshaaAllah. #آرہا_ہے_کپتان pic.twitter.com/MMAREAE77f
— PTI (@PTIofficial) March 4, 2023
The campaign was launched in the last week of February from Lahore to “protect the fundamental rights of the people”.
Laying out the reasons for the “peaceful, non-violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights” at the time, Khan had said members of his party were “facing sham (complaints) and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people.”
But after the Supreme Court ordered the holding of elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, Khan suspended the drive and said his party will now move forward with the vote campaign.
