Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi said on Tuesday that PTI chief Imran Khan’s political opponents are scared of the mass rallies that the latter has been holding across the country.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, PML-Q leader said that the PTI and its allies have announced the long march seeking early elections.

He lambasted the ruling coalition government led by PM Shehbaz Sharif for taking extreme action, including the use of state machinery, to intimidate and harass rivals.

“The residences of provincial lawmakers were raided late night,” he said adding that the government was scared of Imran Khan’s popularity among the people.

Elahi said that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah was the mastermind of last night’s raids in Lahore’s Model Town area. “The door of Justice Nasira Iqbal’s residence was broken,” he added. Justice Iqbal is a prominent jurist and the daughter-in-law of Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Elahi’s statement comes in the wake of a government crackdown on the PTI leadership and cadres late Monday night, a day before the former ruling party’s long march towards Islamabad.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had ordered the police to deal strictly with demonstrators and had directed to arrest the PTI leaders.

On Sunday, the Imran Khan had announced his party’s long march towards the federal capital.