PTI postpones rally as Marwat detained briefly

OUTSPOKEN leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sher Afzal Marwat was arrested and kept under detention briefly by Islamabad police, according to sources.

He was taken under custody when he was in the vicinity of Islamabad’s Tarnol area, where PTI supporters had assembled for a planned gathering. There were reports also of arrests of other PTI activists at the Express Chowk, reported several media houses.

Policemen took Mr Marwat to the Golra police station after arresting him. However, a spokesperson for the Islamabad police said he was set free later in the day.  

A video clip that shows Mr Marwat and other PTI workers arguing with police officers before his detention has gone viral. The clip shows police officers being pushed back and subjected to verbal abuse.

In the meantime, the PTI postponed a demonstration in Islamabad that was supposed to take place on Thursday. A rally will now take place on September 8.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan announced that the rally had been postponed in accordance with directives of party’s founder Imran Khan. “After meeting the PTI founder in Adiyala jail, we decided to postpone the jalsa,” several news organisations quoted as saying.

PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan also confirmed the date for the rally had been changed on the instructions of Mr Khan. “We have received information that the government is conspiring to spread anarchy, under the cover of the rally,” he claimed.

Upon the opposition party’s announcement of a new date for the rally, the Islamabad administration issued a notification granting it permission in this regard. The notification containing 40 instructions for the party was issued by the district magistrate of the federal capital.