Meher Bano Qureshi among PTI leaders, workers arrested for 'Black Day' protests

Multiple leaders and workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been arrested from Multan and Muzaffarabad on Saturday as the party attempts to mark one year since what it calls the rigged elections of February 8 2024, dubbing it a 'Black Day'. 

According to media reports, PTI leader and daughter of incarcerated former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Meher Bano Qureshi, was arrested from Multan for violating section 144.

PTI leaders Zahid Bahar Hashmi and Dalir Meher were detained by police at Pull Chatta for violating Section 144. Over 10 PTI workers were also arrested for attempting to hold a rally in the area.

The Punjab government had earlier imposed Section 144 across the province, which restricts all kinds of political assemblies, gatherings, sit-ins, rallies and other activities.

An official told a private media outlet that opposition leader in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) legislative, Khawaja Farooq, among 16 others, was arrested from AJK.

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur had stated earlier that ‘Black Day’ is being marked to protest against the "historic theft of the people's mandate".

Alluding to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Gandapur said that the party, which had merely won "17 seats", was imposed upon the nation and given power.

Criticizing the incumbent government, CM KP accused the government of destroying every institution in the country.

Gandapur, the face of many PTI protests, is not leading the convoy of party workers as he heads to Swabi for PTI’s protest rally. Gandapur was recently replaced with PTI leader Junaid Akbar as the party's KP President.

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif took to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, writing, “If you [PTI] want to hold a political gathering, come to Punjab, Sindh, or Balochistan — places where you claim injustices have been done to you.”

In other provinces, he said, forget about the public attending gatherings; even PTI's leadership was nowhere to be seen on the ground. Criticising the PTI, he said that the party was like a plant that only grows in government nurseries.

On PTI Secretary General Salman Akram, while speaking to media in Islamabad, said that the party would hold a rally only in Swabi, while protests would take place at tehsil and union council levels. He clarified that there were no plans for confrontation or chaos.

Lahore's Deputy Commissioner (DC) had rejected a PTI request to hold a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on February 8 (today). "The decision not to allow the rally was made to maintain law and order situation," the DC said in a statement.

DC mentioned that important events were scheduled in Lahore on February 8, such as a cricket match, an international speaker conference, and the horse and cattle show.