On Thursday, authorities in Gwadar and Lahore detained Farrukh Habib, the head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), along with his four brothers and dozens of others.
After Habib’s detention, his brother sought rehabilitation through the Lahore High Court.
Almost immediately after Habib’s disappearance became public knowledge, the PTI issued a strong statement condemning the “forced disappearance” of its West Punjab president and ex-state minister.
When asked about the recent uptick in state persecution against the PTI in the lead-up to the elections, a spokesperson for the party said it was a “embarrassing attempt” to keep the largest political party in the country off the biggest platform possible and to manufacture a political facade in the name of the elections.
The interim prime minister’s words were reiterated by him, and he emphasized that the same plot was behind the enforced disappearance of the PTI leaders and workers.
The PTI’s spokesperson said that “every tactic of cruelty, coercion, and brutality is being tried” to keep PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan and his party out of the poll. He noted that the state machinery had descended upon a disgraceful series of forced disappearances after receiving relief from the courts in fraudulent, bogus, and contrived vengeance cases.
Farrukh Habib and the others who were abducted with him were also accused of state lawlessness, following in the footsteps of Zahoor Mashwani, Sadaqat Abbasi, Usman Dar, Owais Younis, Abdul Karim Khan, Hasan Niazi, Haider Majeed, and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
The PTI has asked Pakistan’s chief justice to put a stop to state kidnappers’ promotion of lawlessness.
“The chief justice should exercise his constitutional powers without delay to protect the Constitution from the torture of extra-constitutional forces and the conspiracies of undemocratic elements,” he argued.
Omar Ayub Khan, secretary general of the PTI, tweeted earlier that “Farrukh Habib, former minister of state and President PTI West Punjab, has been abducted by unknown people at this time.” Abductions of PTI leaders have been strongly criticised as a growing practise. Abducted leaders are forced to make recorded confessions that they are abandoning the PTI and Imran Khan.
“Is there any democracy or ‘Rule of Law’ in Pakistan?” he probed. Is this the method through which the ECP plans to guarantee parity prior to the release of constituency delimitations? Are we in for a comical election? Will the ECP simply issue a list of those they deem ‘acceptable’ as having been ‘elected’?
He stated, “The CJP Qazi Faez Isa Sahib should take immediate notice of these abductions and put a stop to the complete disregard and violation of the Constitution.”
