ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police on Tuesday released Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan arrested a day after taken into custody in a crackdown against Imran Khan’s party for allegedly breaching regulations during Sunday’s public rally under the new Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024.
The police said that Barrister Gohar had been cleared of the case registered at Sangjani police station.
Upon his release, Barrister Gohar condemned the police actions taken within the Parliament House, alleging that masked men had stormed the premises and detained at least ten PTI lawmakers. He characterized September 9 as “a black day for Pakistan” and demanded a parliamentary investigation into what he called an attack on the institution.
Gohar questioned whether extending a rally beyond its scheduled time should be considered a crime and criticized the government’s actions against the PTI.
Earlier, police had arrested several PTI leaders, including Gohar Ali Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, Zain Qureshi, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Naseem-ur-Rehman, and Zubair Khan. The arrests stemmed from multiple cases, including an alleged assault on police at Chongi No 26, where clashes erupted between PTI workers and law enforcement following a deviation from the planned rally route leading to Sangjani.
The police have filed charges against PTI leaders under the new law at Noon Village and Sangjani police stations. An FIR accuses PTI workers of attacking police with batons and stones when officers attempted to enforce the rally route restrictions.
In related legal proceedings, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) placed senior PTI leader Shoaib Shaheen on judicial remand for allegedly violating the new public gathering regulations. ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain presided over the case, where Prosecutor Raja Naveed requested a 15-day physical remand, claiming that Shaheen had police equipment in his possession.
Naveed also alleged that PTI workers used law enforcement gear during the clashes and accused PTI leaders of inciting violence. Shaheen’s defence attorney, Riyasat Ali, disputed these claims, presenting CCTV footage to argue that Shaheen was arrested from his legal office.
Judge Zulqarnain inquired about the permitted timeframe for the PTI demonstration, which was scheduled from 4 pm to 7 pm. The prosecutor argued that the new public order law had been breached by the party.
After hearing arguments, the ATC judge reserved the decision on Shaheen’s physical remand and adjourned the case. Other PTI leaders, including Sher Afzal Marwat, Zain Qureshi, Amir Dogar, Naseem Shah, Ahmed Chattha, Sheikh Waqas Akram, and Shaheen, were remanded to jail for eight days in connection with the September 8 incident at Sangjani, where police personnel were allegedly attacked during the party’s Islamabad rally.
