The Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) claimed on Thursday that several of its workers were taken into custody by the Punjab police during the opposition’s street mobilisation campaign.
A TTAP delegation had departed from Islamabad to Lahore earlier today as part of the opposition’s “street movement” to hold political and social gatherings in the provincial capital.
A post shared by the TTAP on X at around 11am said that the delegation, headed by the alliance’s head Mahmood Khan Achakzai, had left for Lahore.
At 3:34pm, the TTAP claimed “dozens” of workers of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) — a part of the alliance — were arrested in Lahore, including Senior Vice President Syed Hussain Kazmi.
The son of MWM chief Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, who serves as the TTAP vice chairman, was also taken into custody, the TTAP claimed on X.
“Right after the arrest, police officials expressed ignorance and took the stance that he was not in their custody,” the statement added.
However, a Gujranwala police official denied the arrest. He told media that Abbas’s son was “stopped for questioning when a car of a PTI rally hit a police constable”, but was then allowed to go ahead.
The PTI, in a statement condemning the “fascism and oppression by the Punjab police”, also claimed that “multiple members of delegations present peacefully along the route of the caravan” were being taken into custody.
“Peaceful citizens and party workers, who are unarmed and pose no threat of any kind, are being subjected to extremely brutal behaviour by the fascist police acting on political orders,” it alleged.
The party further said that the vehicles of its MPAs Malik Fahad, Raja Tanvir and Sardar Muhammad Ali were vandalised at Kharian.
“Our ticket holders, organisational officials and workers were arrested at the location of Gujar Khan,” the PTI statement further said.
Shortly before noon, the TTAP alleged that the Punjab police had arrested “several” PTI workers and had taken action against its camp in Rawalpindi’s Gujar Khan.
It also shared videos showing a police van from the Gujar Khan station and men in police attire carrying batons.
In its statement, the PTI also alleged that late-night raids were being carried out on the residences of its workers in Lahore, “as a result of which, worker Rashid Yousuf Jan lost his life during a raid in the area of Hanjarwal”.
The PTI demanded that all “unjustly arrested” individuals be immediately released and that those responsible for these “unconstitutional and illegal actions” be held accountable.
PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser strongly condemned the vandalism of the TTAP convoy’s vehicles by “masked individuals”, terming the Punjab government “fascist”.
“In our opinion, Mian sahib (Nawaz Sharif) who used to harp on about democracy and consider himself a champion of democracy, [why] is he silent on this?” Qaiser asked, adding that Achakzai was among the PML-N president’s “old friends”.
PTI Punjab chief organiser Aliya Hamza Malik, in a statement, urged party lawyers to get first information reports (FIRs) registered over the vandalism incidents and “invasion of privacy” through raids.
In a post, the PTI said: “Protesters were first surrounded and stopped, vehicles were attacked, windshields were broken, and when a peaceful protest was staged, violence was perpetrated against unarmed citizens.”
It also shared multiple videos, one of which showed at least six cars whose back windshields were damaged.
The PTI said the “direct responsibility of this action lies with Punjab’s TikToker chief minister and the government elements involved with her”.
TTAP convoy enters Gujranwala
As per an update from the TTAP’s official X account at 5:20pm, the alliance’s delegation has entered the limits of Gujranwala as it continued its trip towards Lahore.
According to Google Maps, the distance from Lahore to Gujranwala via GT Road is 87km — about a two-and-a-half-hour journey.
When the TTAP leaders reached Jhelum at around 1:30pm, Senator Abbas spoke to workers there and alleged that the people’s mandate had been stolen in the 2024 elections.
“There is economic exploitation now […] and the political crisis is intensifying. We have taken to the streets to end cruelty, […] for the fundamental rights of the people, for the poor, labourers, unemployed and farmers and for all those who are oppressed,“ he said, standing alongside Achakzai.
The senator said the alliance would take to the streets against “cruelty” across the country on February 8.
In a separate video before his departure to Lahore, Achakzai said, “We are not going to Lahore to conquer, curse at anyone or throw rocks at them; our slogan is that we are setting out to end oppression and cruelty.”
Achakzai, who has been nominated as the next opposition leader in the National Assembly, called on the public to stand with the opposition against a Parliament “thrust upon” Pakistan.
The TTAP chief stressed that the country was suffering from “endless issues because of ill-intended decisions”.
“The government itself knows that it is invalid,” Achakzai said.
“In this regard, the TTAP has appealed to people from all walks of life to protest on Feb 8 and come stand with us,” he said, calling on people to “close their shops, rickshaws, and taxis”.
“We are starting a peaceful movement and we are here to end oppression,” he reiterated.
Standing alongside Achakzai was the opposition leader of the Punjab Assembly, Moeen Qureshi, who extended his welcome to the TTAP chief.
“There are a lot of MPAs present here who will accompany Achakzai sahib to Lahore,” he said.
He warned Punjab authorities against treating the TTAP delegation the same way as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was treated during his visit to Lahore last month.
He also reiterated that the movement would be peaceful.
Malik, in a post on X in the morning, “welcomed” the TTAP members to Lahore. The PTI Punjab chief organiser said that her party would accord a “grand welcome” to the guests at nine locations on GT Road.
“This peaceful struggle is a struggle for the Constitution and the law,” she wrote.
In a post on TTAP’s X account, the alliance’s spokesperson, Hussain Yousafzai, termed the visit a “practice match for the larger movement”.
Yousafzai voiced optimism that the visit would give “hope to the PTI workers in Punjab”.
At a recent national conference organised by the TTAP alliance, KP CM Afridi had announced the observation of a “black day” at the national and international levels on Feb 8, which will mark the second anniversary of the general elections under which the existing parliament has been functioning.
The conference had also highlighted the need for a new Charter of Democracy — agreeing that the option of talks should never be closed — and put forth demands including an “independent” judiciary and election commission, as well as the release of “political prisoners”, which it believed were necessary for restoring stability in the country.
Meanwhile, as proposals for talks between the government and the opposition remain in limbo, a clique of politicians — under the banner of the ‘National Dialogue Committee’ (NDC) — on Wednesday called for the release of all political prisoners to reduce acrimony and pave the way for reconciliation.
Additional input by Asif Chaudhry and Mansoor Malik
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