ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja was briefly detained by police in Islamabad on Thursday and released about two hours later, according to the party and opposition alliance leaders.
Mr Raja was detained within the jurisdiction of Nilore police station while he was travelling to attend the funeral of PTI worker Ijaz Satti in Kotli Sattian, according to PTI and a spokesperson for the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Aain-e-Pakistan.
PTI said Mr Raja, along with Latasub Satti, described by the party as MNA-elect from Murree-Kotli Sattian, and several others was stopped and taken to Nilore police station.
The party alleged that the detentions were aimed at preventing PTI supporters from attending the funeral and termed the action illegal.
Opposition alliance spokesperson Ikwanzada Hussain Yousafzai confirmed Mr Raja’s detention and later said he had been released.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said Mr Raja was held for around two hours. He condemned the detention and said hundreds of PTI workers had been arrested in recent days, while arrest warrants had also been issued for members of the National and provincial assemblies.
Other PTI leaders, including Shaukat Basra, criticised the detention, describing it as political victimisation of a senior politician and lawyer who was travelling to attend a funeral.
ALSO READ >>> Nawaz Sharif picks Dr Najeeb Naqi for AJK presidency
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Raja had addressed a press conference alongside PTI leader Taimur Saleem Jhagra.
The PTI has been organising activities ahead of a nationwide protest planned for September 27. Security has also been tightened in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, as well as at key entry points, in recent days.
