The top-tier leadership of PTI has announced its decision to protest on Friday against the “unlawful” arrest of their leaders from the Parliament building after the National Assembly session.

“You cannot do legislation by arresting lawmakers in such a way. There is ‘lava’ inside people and such incidents incite them,” PTI leader Salman Akram Raja said at a press conference in Peshawar. Leader of Opposition in the NA Omar Ayub and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser flanked him at the presser.

Raja slammed the Islamabad police’s action to whisk away party MNAs from Parliament and arrest them, saying that party supporters were concerned over such actions.

Raja criticised the situation in Pakistan, alleging that certain individuals are dominating the democratic process. He urged such individuals to allow the country’s democratic framework and Constitution to function freely.

“Journalism is the fifth pillar of the state,” he said while responding to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandpaur’s comments regarding the “black sheep” in the media.

Raja expressed his discontent with recent events, saying: “What happened yesterday was completely wrong. Is Parliament not sacred? An insult has been made to Parliament.”

He questioned the constitutional amendments that would justify the abduction of individuals, emphasising that the recent incident aimed to kidnap members and manipulate constitutional changes according to their wishes. He vowed that they would take to the streets against such government actions.

“Half-truths are always lies. Bring forth the videos from May 9—who set the fires? Who brought in chemicals? Our people were unarmed. What happened on the night of February 9 is evident to all. The public entrusted us with their votes, and that trust has been betrayed.”

‘Dark day’ for PTI

Omar described the arrest of fellow party leaders as “the darkest day in history.” He claimed that there was no solid evidence against anyone on May 9, yet arrests were made, and PTI leadership was “forcibly taken” from Parliament House.

While addressing Sadiq, Ayub demanded to know why he “permitted intelligence agencies” to conduct the arrests, alleging that the lights in the NA were turned off during the detentions. He insisted that the only solution to the country’s problems is to hold immediate elections.

Omar called for nationwide protests on Friday, demanding the conduct of general elections in the country.

Qaiser warns of consequences for government

Qaiser stated that he has sent a message to Sadiq, warning that members of the government would be forcibly removed in the future and that no one would be left to voice their concerns once they were ousted.

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He added that the situation would not only reflect the events of May 9 but would also include those of September 9. He asserted that “Rangers and agencies are tools of the state, not the state itself, and called for the dismissal of false allegations against the imprisoned members of their party.”

The former NA speaker urged all political parties to take a stand against any agency that exceeds its constitutional bounds.

He raised a critical question regarding the representatives in the Balochistan Assembly, asking if they were not the people’s representatives. He claimed that the provincial government has effectively collapsed.