Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who had announced nation-wide protest after parliamentarians and workers of his party were arrested at Parliament Lodges last night has called it off following release of the arrested individuals.
In an audio message he shared on Twitter, Maluana Fazl said there was ‘no need’ to block roads and highways across the country as all party associates had been released. The party had given the government a deadline of 9am to release party workers, to which the government complied.
A volunteer force of the JUI-F, the Anasrul Islam, had assembled at the Parliament Lodges to provide security to opposition lawmakers. A heavy contingent of police conducted a raid to disperse the group, arresting at least four legislators and two dozen volunteers in the operation.
The JUI-F leader had directed party members to the Parliament Lodges, telling them that the “government wants to abduct the Opposition’s members of the National Assembly by arresting them” in an effort to quash the no-confidence motion.
Maulana Fazi further condemned the police’s action, claiming that they “discarded all laws and ethics at Parliament Lodges, baselessly tortured workers and dragged and arrested elected representatives of the public, detained their guests and presented a wrong picture and false narrative to the public”.
With the vote of no-confidence imminent, opposition parties have made their presence in Islamabad known. On Tuesday, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) long march reached Islamabad, drawing notable crowds.
