KARACHI: A Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker was reportedly “picked up” from his Karachi residence by unidentified plainclothesmen, according to the opposition party’s provincial spokesperson.
Arsalan Taj Hussain, the party’s lawmaker from PS-102 (Karachi East-IV), and the general secretary in the city, was seized a day after he criticised Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon during a press conference.
Additionally, Hussain alleged that the PPP’s ally, the Jamaat-i-Islami, was the “PPP’s B team.”
The PTI spokesperson claimed the police raided Hussain’s house and ransacked it, while the lawmaker’s mother accused the police of taking her son without a warrant and alleged that 20 to 25 people had come to arrest him.
The party, on Twitter, has shared a video of the parliamentarian being abducted. “PPP has repeatedly showed their true colours, will the media now speak up!?” it tweeted.
Bilawal and Zardari should be ashamed of themselves for this gross act of fascism against sitting MPA @ArsalanGhumman ! PPP has repeatedly showed their true colours, will the media now speak up!? pic.twitter.com/TGADe8RCiL
— PTI (@PTIofficial) March 12, 2023
Responding to the development, Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of the party, demanded Hussain’s “immediate release”.
PTI Karachi General Secretary and MPA Arsalan Taj Ghuman. has been abducted by authorities PTI strongly condemn this abduction and demand release of Arsalan immediately
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 12, 2023
The police, on the other hand, said they have received a complaint about Hussain’s disappearance and are investigating.
Meanwhile, the PTI has criticised the arrest of its party member, and raids were also conducted at the residences of its provincial lawmakers Khurram Sherzaman and Raja Azhar.
The two were not apprehended as they were not at home, but Azhar’s family was reportedly harassed.
The PTI is currently gearing up for a rally led by former prime minister Imran Khan in Lahore, and Hussain’s arrest has added to the political tensions in the country.
