Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Secretary-General of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Asad Umar were among the 83 leaders and workers of the party released from jail after being detained during the “Jail Bharo Tehreek (court arrest movement)”.
The development came after the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the release of those apprehended during the movement.
LHC’s Justice Tariq Saleem Shaikh issued the order while hearing a petition filed by PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry seeking the release of his party’s detained leaders.
The movement, according to the PTI rationale, aims to counter the “attack on constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights” and the “economic meltdown” by the incumbent government”.
The court arrest movement was launched on February 22. The party’s senior leaders, including Qureshi, and Umar, along with party workers voluntarily surrendered themselves to the Lahore police on the first day of the campaign — and later, some of the others followed suit.
The PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday, however, welcomed the Supreme Court (SC) verdict in the election suo motu notice and announced the suspension of the “Jail Bharo Tehreek”, saying the party will move forward with election campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab.
