MUZAFFARGARH: Former MNA Jamshed Dasti evaded arrest as police teams conducted a raid to arrest him and his followers on Friday morning.

On Friday, police teams besieged the house of Dasti to arrest him, but he had already left before police arrived at the spot. However, his nephew Ehsaan and a couple of other relatives were arrested.

Sources said that after Dasti allegedly spoke against the ruling party and government at the Azadi March in Islamabad on Nov 2, he was wanted by the police even though there was no case against him for doing so. However, he had earlier been booked in several other cases.

A police officer told this correspondent that a high-level meeting was held in Dera Ghazi Khan, chaired by the commissioner, after Dasti’s speech against Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government. The meeting discussed arresting the former lawmaker as there were already casea against him.

Later, Dasti released a video on social media, alleging that he was under threat by the administration, and appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to take action against this ‘harassment’. He said his nephew and two other relatives had been arrested and were being harassed by police, who had also allegedly insulted the women members of his family.

A police official claimed that Dasti and his family were involved in dozens of cases, adding that his three brothers and relatives were booked in cases in four police stations.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2019