ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders Thursday strongly condemned what they called the “midnight abduction” of party’s senior leader Dr. Iftikhar Durrani, arguing that he had nothing to do with May 9 incident.
In a statement, the PTI leaders said that it should now be obvious that this ongoing oppression and clampdown against PTI had nothing to do with the events of May 9 but everything to do with the London plan to dismantle PTI.
They raised a question that Iftikhar Durrani had nothing to do with May 9 incident but why he was picked up in the middle of the night without any arrest warrant.
They stated that it should now be obvious that this oppression and clampdown against PTI had nothing to do with the events of 9th May but everything to do with the London plan to dismantle PTI.
Earlier, media reports said that PTI leader Iftikhar Durrani was “picked up” from his residence in the wee hours of Thursday.
In a tweet, which included a video of Durrani’s house allegedly ransacked by law enforces, posted on the party’s official Twitter handle, the PTI stated that “law enforces broke into the house of the PTI leader without an arrest warrant.”
Former prime minister and party chairman Imran Khan also took to Twitter to voice his concern and questioned the development.
“Why has Iftikhar Durrani been picked up in the middle of the night without any arrest warrant? He had nothing to do with the 9th May incident,” he wrote.
He added that “the crackdown against anyone who has anything to do with PTI continues”.
“It should now be obvious that this oppression and clampdown against PTI has nothing to do with the events of 9th May but everything to do with the London plan to dismantle PTI,” said Imran.
The unexpected chain of events targeting PTI leaders had unfolded days after a series of attacks on key civilian and military installations on May 9, following the arrest of the ousted premier in a graft case.
Since then, roughly two dozen leaders have announced quitting the party while others were expected to make their announcements soon.
Though, Imran sees this exodus as “forced divorces at gunpoint”, political experts suggest that it’s an attempt to factionalise the PTI just like the PML-N was converted into PML-Q overnight at the turn of the last century.
