On Thursday, multiple individuals filed pleas in the Lahore High Court (LHC) requesting the release of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders who surrendered themselves to police on Wednesday as part of their “Jail Bharo Tehreek” movement. This included Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Azam Swati, and other senior PTI members who were taken into custody near Lahore’s Mall Road. Zain Qureshi filed a petition asking the LHC to order the authorities to produce his father, Shah Mahmood, who was wrongfully detained. PTI Senator Ijaz Chaudhry also filed pleas for the recovery of eight other PTI leaders who were not being provided with food or medicine. Chaudhry made the additional chief secretary (home), inspector general of Punjab (IG), and capital city police officer (CCPO) parties to the case. Chaudhry argued that the leaders were being kept in wrongful detention and that there was no reason to keep them behind bars. Following the submission of the pleas, Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry fixed the cases for Friday. PTI Lahore President Sheikh Imtiaz had claimed that 47 leaders and workers were arrested on Wednesday, but police officials said the number was around 80.
