SAHIWAL/MIANWALI/OKARA: As many as 60 workers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf were sent to jail in Sahiwal and Okara while lawyers associated with the party were arrested in Mianwalias police intensified the crackdown ahead of the PTI’s planned protest on Sept 27.
In Pakpattan district, around 40 PTI workers, office-bearers and activists were detained over the past 36 hours and sent to central jail for 30 days under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance.
Police said the arrests were made in Pakpattan tehsil. However, PTI district office-bearers claimed that around 35 more workers had also been arrested in Arifwala tehsil.
According to police and party sources, the workers were taken into custody at different police stations amid preparations for the PTI’s planned nationwide protest on Sept 27, which the party has linked to the third anniversary of Imran Khan’s arrest.
Mianwali lawyers observe strike against crackdown ahead of Sept 27 protest
In Mianwali, a crackdown on PTI workers and supporters also continued in connection with preparations for the Sept 27 event.
The arrests of lawyers affiliated with the PTI triggered a strike by the District Bar Association Mianwali and the tehsil bars of Isa Khel and Piplan on Monday.
According to lawyers, police raided the residences of president and senior vice president of the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF) Mianwali. During a raid at the residence of ILF President Shahid Khan Advocate, police allegedly arrested his younger brother, Ameer Khan Advocate, in his absence. Similarly, police reportedly picked up a nephew of ILF Senior Vice President Saeed Ahmad Khan during a raid at his residence.
Police also arrested Samiullah Khan Advocate in Isa Khel, according to lawyers.
The arrests prompted lawyers in the district to observe a complete strike. No lawyer appeared before courts in Mianwali, Isa Khel and Piplan.
Meanwhile, PTI supporters alleged that police also sealed several shops along Ballokhel Road and near the
Niazi Express bus stand in Mianwali, which they said were owned by PTI supporters. They also claimed that buses had been impounded from the main bus stand ahead of the Sept 27 protest.
In Okara, more than 120 PTI workers have reportedly been arrested during the ongoing crackdown, according to party sources. Of these, 20 were detained under the MPO and sent to District Jail Okara for seven days.
Those detained under the MPO include Rahat Ali, Mudassar Ali, Muhammad Abdullah, Adeel Masih, Hamza Ghafoor, Ashraf Chohan, Saram Rashid, Shoaib Rashid, Muhammad Ilyas, Amin Kamboh, Atif Kamboh, Bilal Baghiana and Mubashir Rehmani.
Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2026
