Almost 4,800 Imran Khan supporters arrested since May 9 riots: Punjab govt

Lahore, Jun 25 (PTI) Pakistan’s Punjab government has disclosed that it has arrested nearly 4,800 supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan under a public security order since the unprecedented protests of May 9 last year, a step described as “a black chapter of Pakistan’s history” by his party.

The Punjab government on Monday told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that it arrested 4,770 ‘miscreants’ under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) in the province since the May 9, 2023, riots and later released 3,511 of them.

Following the arrest of Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, in a corruption case in May last year, riots erupted in the country in which dozens of state and military installations were attacked.

According to the PTI, the law enforcement agencies had arrested over 10,000 workers and leaders of the party following the violence. Over 100 PTI leaders and workers have been handed over to the army for their trial under military courts.

The Punjab government, however, did not tell the court how many PTI workers were detained under different charges of terrorism or the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for attacking the state and military installations.

The government told the LHC that it had released 3,511 out of 4,770 supporters of Imran Khan detained under the MPO.

The Maryam Nawaz government of the Punjab province was prompted to file a reply following a petition of PTI leader Zainab Umair challenging the detention of thousands of Khan’s supporters through ‘abuse of powers by the deputy commissioners in the province.’

The petitioner told the court that the government issued ‘wholesale’ detention orders of PTI leaders and workers under sections 3 and 16 of the MPO in the wake of the May 9 violence.

LHC Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq adjourned the hearing till June 28 and sought the personal appearance of the advocate general of Punjab.

Reacting strongly to the state government’s severe action against Khan’s supporters, the PTI said in a statement on Tuesday that the arrest of around 5,000 citizens under a public security order is a black chapter of Pakistan’s history.

The PTI said under the guise of the false flag operation of May 9, brutal atrocities and human rights violations were committed against the citizens of Pakistan. “A time will come when all those involved in these brutalities will be brought to justice,” the PTI said.