LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) -Police arrested 120 activists of Pakistan’s main opposition party in raids overnight, security officials said, ahead of protests planned for Tuesday, the second anniversary of the jailing of their leader, Imran Khan.
Most of the detentions, made on Monday night and early on Tuesday, were in the eastern city of Lahore, two police officers told Reuters, where Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party vowed its biggest demonstration, as well as protests elsewhere.
At least 200 activists had been arrested from Lahore, said party spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari, adding that the protest would go ahead.
Lahore is the capital of the eastern province of Punjab, the country’s most politically important region and home to half its population.
The Punjab government and the provincial police did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
In a statement on Monday, police said large contingents of police were providing security in all the province’s major cities.
Khan’s party had always created “chaos”, Uzma Bukhari, a spokesperson of the provincial government, told a press conference on Monday.
“No political party can be barred from politics in Pakistan, but a terrorist organisation disguised as a political party is not allowed to disrupt Pakistan’s peace,” Bukhari added.
In a message attributed to Khan on his party’s X account on Monday, he urged supporters to “come out and hold peaceful protests until a true democracy is restored in the country”.
The former cricket star was elected prime minister in 2018 but, once in office, fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military and was ousted in 2022 through a vote in parliament.
His arrest in May 2023 sparked protests against the military nationwide, leading to a crackdown on the party.
Khan, who denies any wrongdoing, dismisses as politically motivated the dozens of cases against him, ranging from terrorism to disclosure of official secrets.
He was convicted in January in a corruption case, while being acquitted of other charges or receiving suspended sentences.
Ahead of the protest call, hundreds of Khan’s party members, including several parliamentarians were convicted late last month on charges related to the 2023 protests against his arrest.
Khan’s party emerged as the single biggest in the 2024 election, and it says that rigging robbed it of more seats.
Other parties clubbed together to form a government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which denies coming to power through electoral fraud.
(Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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