According to a parliamentary rule, police should inform the National Assembly speaker before arresting any lawmaker, and the rule was violated.
Islamabad: Authorities in Pakistan arrested several leaders of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party, including its chairman and around a dozen lawmakers, as National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq promised action against those responsible for the crackdown.
The Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers had clashed with police, injuring several police officials, including a senior officer, during a rally of the party recently, calling for Imran Khan's release. The government accused the party of violating the permission for the rally by over-stepping the allotted time limit.
PTI Chairman Gohar Khan termed the arrests as an attack on the parliament and September 9 as 'a black day for Pakistan'. (Photo courtesy: X@BarristerGohar)
PTI spokesman Zulfi Bokhari confirmed that thirteen PTI leaders were arrested, including Gohar Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, Shoaib Shaheen, Sheikh Waqas, Zain Qureshi, Ahmad Chatha, Molana Naseem, Awais Jhakhar, Amir Dogar, Shah Ahad, Yousaf Khattak, Lateef Chitrali and Zubair Khan.
National Assembly Speaker Sadiq took notice of the development and said he "will take action on the incident and address it seriously". He further said that if necessary, an FIR would be filed, and those involved in the crackdown would be named as he summoned political leaders from all parties for an urgent meeting in his chamber to discuss further steps.
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