PTI workers and leaders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) did not follow in the footsteps of their Lahore counterparts and court arrest as part of the party’s ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ on Wednesday. The day ended without any arrests, and police appeared reluctant to detain PTI leaders. The venue for the court arrest drive was shifted from Gulbahar to Hashtnagri, with the demonstration beginning hours after its scheduled launch at 2 pm. PTI leader Pervez Khattak led a convoy to Peshawar’s central jail on foot around 5 pm, where leaders made speeches outside the prison before the protesters dispersed. PTI Chairman Imran Khan had told KP leaders that he would give another call for arrests.
Initially, about 400 PTI workers gathered outside the Gulbahar police station, but the venue was later changed to Hashtnagri. Since KP top brass arrived late afternoon, PTI workers and leaders waited near the Gulfat Hussain Shaheed police station for most of the day. The supporters spent their time taking part in photo sessions inside the prison vans parked to detain supporters. The police later confirmed that they had not detained anyone in connection with the protest.
In a video that circulated on social media, PTI leader Fazle Illahi posed with over a dozen supporters on the foothold of a prison van, but he ran away after a few seconds. In another video from Swat, a police party arrived at the home of a PTI leader asking him to turn himself in. However, the PTI leader later told media persons that he was in Peshawar “for the arrest”.
Only one PTI worker showed up in Dera Ismail Khan. The district police waited for the PTI local leaders and workers, but none of them, including former minister Ali Amin Gandapur, appeared. The Peshawar district administration issued a notification on Wednesday imposing Section 144 in the provincial capital, banning the gathering of five or more people within the limits of district Peshawar due to the apprehension that such gatherings could result in a law and order situation or a mishap due to militant activity.
