Raid on the party headquarters of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Khan

Islamabad. Pakistani police raided the party headquarters of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan on Monday, a week after the military-backed government vowed to ban political protests.
An AFP reporter at the scene saw authorities seal off the headquarters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and many of the party’s activists were taken to a waiting van.

An official of the Islamabad Police, who did not want to be named as he was not authorized to speak in the media, informed that Rauf Hasan, a founding member of the party and the head of the press department, had been arrested.

Party president Gauhar Ali Khan, who is also a barrister, said that he was also arrested after going to the police station with Hasan after the local media and PTI initially reported.
“I was there with Rauf Hasan, he is our senior and I should have been there for him”, he said, “We are always ready for arrest.”

Hassan said on Saturday that at least 10 members of PTI or their relatives have been arrested in the last two months. He said they had ‘disappeared’ without a ‘trace’. “Seven of them are only from my department who want to paralyze us if we don’t keep quiet”, he said.

The information minister of the government said last week that PTI will be banned. A few days later, the government received a big shock when the Supreme Court gave an important verdict in favor of the party.

Former Prime Minister Khan has been in jail for nearly a year, but this month an Islamabad judge overturned his conviction for illegal marriage. The Supreme Court has awarded more parliamentary seats to the PTI in a move to make it the single largest party in the National Assembly.

It is believed that both these cases have given a big shock to the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who won the parliamentary majority after the February elections by forming a coalition.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan termed the attempt to ban PTI as a “major blow to democratic standards” and termed it as “the smell of political apathy”. Asad Iqbal Butt, chairman of the commission, said in a statement, “If it goes ahead, it will achieve nothing but deep polarization and a strong possibility of political chaos and violence.”

Former Prime Minister Khan, who says that many cases have been registered against him to prevent him from returning to power, is in jail for inciting protests and corruption.

A United Nations panel of experts said this month that Khan’s detention had no basis and appeared to be aimed at disqualifying him for political office. Agency