‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’
Six prison vans boarded with party workers have been departed for jail so far, says Yasmin Rashid
DNA
GUJRANWALA
At least 70 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters of Gujranwala have courted arrest as the party’s ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ entered day fifth day on Sunday.
Taking to Twitter, the PTI said that former MPAs – Zafarullah Cheema and Nazar Muhammad Gondal – were the first who voluntarily surrendered to the police in the Gujranwala. The workers voluntarily arrested themselves on the call of the PTI chief. Meanwhile, the PTI enthusiasts surrounded the prisoners van and the police took the PTI supporters with it.
PTI’s leader Yasmin Rashid reached the central jail after the arrests and claimed almost 125 workers have presented themselves for the court arrest. She added the workers were giving their arrest voluntarily.
She said that the police were facing a shortage of prison vans to shift the PTI workers to the jail. She added that the local police barred female workers of the party from boarding the prison van.
The PTI leader paid rich tribute to the people for taking to the street on the call of former prime minister Imran Khan who announced the ‘Jail Bharo’ campaign on February 4 and it was kicked off on February 22 from Lahore.
Besides others, Chaudhry Ilyas Gujjar, his nephew and Qamar Abbas Tarrar have courted arrest, said Rashid. Sharing a photo of former MPA Zafarullah Cheema and Nazar Muhammad Gondal in handcuffs on Twitter, the PTI leaders said that they were the first who voluntarily surrendered to the police in the city.
Earlier in the day, the administration of Gujranwala Central Jail refused to keep Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers in the prison, who are surrendering themselves for the Jail Bharo Tehreek.
The jail administration in a letter has informed the police and the district administration. According to the jail officials, Gujranwala Jail is already overcrowded as it is keeping 3,300 prisoners against its capacity of 1,500. The PTI workers arrested in Gujranwala will be shifted to the other jails of the province, the sources. Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan decided to spread anarchy throughout the country, the Jail Bharo Movement has turned into the “embarrassment movement.”
While addressing the press conference in Islamabad, the interior minister said, “There are hardly two hundred people arrested in the Jail Bharo Movement, and 80 per cent of them want to be released, though they would be detained for 30 days at least.”
