PTI leaders, workers initiate Jail Bharo movement; Shah Mahmood, Asad Umar, Azam Swati, others present arrest voluntarily
LAHORE, Feb 22 (SABAH): The Lahore police teams on Wednesday drove senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and a number of workers to jails minutes after they courted arrest while honouring the call of party supremo and former prime minister Imran Khan.
PTI leader Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi was the first to have courted arrest as part of party’s ‘Jail Bharo movement.’ According to media reports, police put the PTI vice chairman in the prison van. Other leaders including Asad Umar, Azam Khan Swati, Zubair Niazi sat in the prison van by themselves. Omar Sarfraz Cheema and others also surrendered themselves while Hammad Azhar sat atop a vehicle ostensibly to get media glare.
The police said they were carrying the PTI leaders and workers to the Kot Lakhpat and camp jails but they could not tell whether those arrested would be put behind the bars. Earlier, it was stated that no prison in Lahore had the capacity to keep a number of political workers.
Taking to Twitter, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said many PTI leaders and workers including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Ejaz Chaudhry had surrendered themselves for the arrest. He said the sea of people had created panic among policemen.
Fawad lauded the PTI workers for their response, saying the movement would move forward to Peshawar today (Thursday).
Qureshi, while speaking from inside the police van, said: “I am ‘happy and satisfied’, and I urge the masses to break the shackles of fear and venture out.”
Supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) started gathering at Zaman Park, the residence of party chairman Imran Khan in Lahore, to kickstart the movement in a bid to push for elections and register protest against economic instability and crackdown on party leaders and workers. Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar had decided to court arrest on the first day of the movement. Accordingly, Qureshi addressed the workers on Jail Road and asked them to be ready for a great cause the PTI has been pursuing.
He said Imran Khan had stopped him from offering arrest but he would reach Charing Cross. As hundreds of PTI activists began their journey toward Mall Road, several roads witnessed a traffic jam and the party supporters seemed enthusiastic. The party leaders announced that they had made the event a momentous occasion.
The social media handles of the party remained busy in motivating the supporters for the drive as messages from party leaders were shared from time to time. Khan, in a video message a day earlier, urged the supporters to fill up the prisons and break the idols of fears.