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PTI Senior Vice President (SVP) Sher Afzal Marwat was detained outside the Lahore High Court (LHC) by uniformed personnel, the party said on its X (formerly Twitter) social media account.<\/p>\n
Dawn.com\u2019s<\/em> correspondent at the court saw Marwat being detained by police personnel.<\/p>\n Footage of Marwat\u2019s arrest shared by the PTI on X showed policemen dragging him by the collar as several lawyers tried to stop them.<\/p>\n The PTI described the \u201cabduction\u201d as \u201cabsolutely shameful\u201d and said it represented \u201cthe respect for courts in the eyes of those in power\u201d. The party also urged LHC judges to ensure Marwat\u2019s safe recovery.<\/p>\n In a separate statement, it said Marwat\u2019s arrest was a \u201cmanifestation of the prevailing lawlessness in the country and the fear and cowardice of the people in power\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe aim of these unconstitutional and illegal tactics is to escape from the elections and impose on the public those who were brought under the \u2018London plan\u2019,\u201d the PTI alleged, adding that the \u201ccontinued silence of the judiciary\u201d was encouraging such illegal actions.<\/p>\n PTI Chairman Gohar Khan, while speaking to media persons outside the Election Commission of Pakistan in Islamabad, also condemned Marwat\u2019s arrest. He said such actions against the party would affect free and fair elections in the country.<\/p>\n PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan said Marwat was apprehended by Punjab police when he was enroute to address lawyers in Lahore.<\/p>\n \u201cThese tactics show the absolute moral bankruptcy of the illegal caretaker corrupt chief minister Mohsin Naqvi and a spineless Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Constitution of Pakistan has been rendered useless and is in effect held in abeyance by the actions of the caretaker federal government. Parliamentary democracy does not exist in Pakistan at this moment in time. Anarchy rules in Pakistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n PTI\u2019s Ali Muhammad Khan condemned Marwat\u2019s \u201cuncalled for arrest\u201d and demanded he be immediately released.<\/p>\n \u201cThe date of election is already announced. There should be equal opportunity for all to do political activities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Condemning the arrest, PTI\u2019s Taimur Jhagra asked, \u201cWhat exactly is going on???\u201d<\/p>\n It is not immediately clear what Marwat was arrested for, though it was reported that he was detained under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance.<\/p>\n Section 3 of the MPO states: \u201cGovernment, if satisfied that with a view to preventing any person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order, may by an order in writing direct his arrest and detention\u2026 .\u201d<\/p>\n Marwat was appointed as the PTI SVP<\/a> last month. He was a member of the PTI for a long time, but he came to the limelight only after the par\u00adty found itself in crisis following the events of May 9, which for\u00adc\u00ad\u00aded its key leadership to ei\u00ad\u00adther to part ways with Imran Khan, or go underground to avo\u00adid the heat. This provided an opportunity for lower-tier leaders of the party to rise within the ranks and take up key positions.<\/p>\n Marwat also became close to Imran after representing the PTI chief in most of the cases against him.<\/p>\n Marwat represented the PTI chief in the Toshakhana case, where the court convicted the former premier for three years. His proximity to the PTI founder only grew when he launched a tirade against trial court judge Humayun Dilawar during the proceedings of the Toshakhana trial, and he was subsequently inducted into the PTI core committee.<\/p>\n Last week, Marwat had accused<\/a> the police of attempting to \u201cabduct\u201d him near the Gulabad area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\u2019s Lower Dir district.<\/p>\n Subsequently, the Peshawar High Court had ordered<\/a> the KP government not to arrest Marwat until further orders in four cases recently registered against him after he attended his party\u2019s conventions in the province.<\/p>\n