Hundreds of PTI supporters prepare for jail as 'court arrest' begins

Hundreds of supp­or­ters of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have planned to hit the streets in Punjab's provincial capital on Wednesday to kick off the "Jail Bharo Tehreek" where more than 200 supporters could face court arrest.

In an apparent bid to muster up support for the movement, the former ruling party also took out rallies in multiple cities, including Faisalabad, Kasur, and Sheikhupura on different pretexts, DAWN reports.

Earlier, PTI Chief Imran Khan in a video message on Twitter called on the party supporters to "Fill up prisons and shatter the idols of fear."

Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, who is the focal person of the Jail Bharo Tehreek, said the party had sought 200 volunteers for the first day of the drive but more than 2,000 have signed up for the drive. He said those party leaders, who would contest the upcoming by-polls on the PTI platform, would not become part of the drive.

The Dawn report noted that some mid-tier leaders, including former Punjab governor Umer Sarfraz Cheema, Senator Waleed Iqbal, former provincial minister Murad Raas along with more than 200 workers would court arrest in the first phase of the movement.

According to ARY News, the opening day of the movement would start with a meeting to honour the party members at 12:30pm. After the meeting, the party supporters would march towards The Mall — where Section 144 is imposed — via Jail Road to give themselves up for arrests. In case, the government refused to detain the PTI activists, the rally will morph into a sit-in at Charing Cross in front of the Punjab Assembly.

After Lahore, Peshawar will witness the launch of the court arrest drive on Februaryruary 23. Rawalpindi will follow on February 24, Multan on February 25, Gujranwala on February 26, Sargodha on February 27, and Sahiwal on February 28. Faisalabad will join the movement on the first day of March.

Speaking to the media, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry said the party and its top brass were ready for the court arrest movement. "Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar insisted that they would give themselves for arrest on the first day of the movement," he said, adding that for now the leadership thinks that the party should move forward with a strategy.

The PTI leader said this movement is against human rights violations, sky-rocketing inflation, and the deal with the International Monetary Fund.

Asad Umar, a central party leader, in a brief interview shared on PTI's Twitter handle said that the movement was aimed at gaining freedom for the nation. The PTI supporters would give up their "individual freedom" for the 220 million people of this country.

"In my personal opinion, the date for election would be announced before things would go to that stage," he added. Umar, however, did not mention if he would go to jail today.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI's arrest drive was aimed at creating political instability and a law and order situation in the country. The PTI is seeking media attention by creating a drama through the 'court arrest drive', APP quoted him as saying.