More than 100 supporters of former PM Imran Khan's party protesting vote rigging arrested in Punjab

Lahore: More than 100 supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party have been arrested from different parts of Punjab province of Pakistan for staging rallies against alleged vote rigging, police said on Sunday.

On the call of party founder Imran Khan, supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party held protests across Pakistan on Saturday against the alle­ged 'massive rigging' in the February 8 general elections.

Most arrests took place in Lahore where newly elected Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz ordered a clamp down on the protesting PTI supporters.

"Police thras­hed and arrested 80 workers and leaders in Lahore. Over 20 have been arrested in Gujrat city. Protests were held in 38 cities of Punjab and the federal capital Islamabad," a PTI spokesperson said on Sunday.

In Lahore, police baton-charged protesters at GPO Chowk and Liberty Chowk.

"PTI leaders Mian Shahzad Farooq and Afzaal Azeem Pahat, who contested the election last month against Maryam Nawaz and her uncle Shehbaz Sharif, respectively, were also arrested. Farooq had defeated Maryam but the Election Commission of Pakistan had changed the result," the spokesperson said.

Aftab Bajwa, the former bar secretary of the Supreme Court, was also arrested.

Videos of Khan's supporters being dragged out of cars and beaten for displaying PTI flags were doing the rounds on social media.

Punjab police said they arrested those protesters who blocked the road.

The service of X, formerly Twitter, also remained disrupted in the country on Saturday and Sunday.

The disruption of different social media sites, particularly X, has become an order of the day after the controversy-marred polls.

The PTI has condemned the 'brutal' police action to stop the peaceful protest against the massive rigging in elections and stealing the mandate of the people to impose 'the mandate thieves' on the nation.

PTI Central Punjab General Secretary Hammad Azhar said: "Controversial and fake CM Maryam Nawaz has committed fascism by using the State’s machinery against peaceful protesters."

PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan denounced the 'fascist, coercive tactics and the unlawful use of State machinery' to disrupt the peaceful protest across the country against the theft of the public mandate.

"The nation will not rest till it reclaims stolen mandate from the thieves. The government of mandate thieves is unacceptable," Hasan said.

Hasan said the people came in droves on the call of their beloved leader Imran Khan to protest against poll fraud, which proved that the mandate thieves rode to power on the coattails of the stolen votes.

"The erection of unconstitutional obstacles and massive police deployment in the way of protesters clearly shows the level of fear of the fake government of mandate thieves."

Hasan went on to say that the people gave a clear and huge mandate to Khan, however, the clear majority was converted into a minority fraudulently through result manipulation.

Hasan made it clear the PTI would strongly resist any attempt to impose the fraudsters on the country.

"We will not accept the fake government formed based on Form 47 fraudulently prepared by the ECP," he said.

He emphasised the future of Pakistan was linked with democracy and democratic values and norms.

Democracy can only be brought in Pakistan by giving people the constitutional authority of decision-making, he said.

"The people of Pakistan will not rest until they snatch their mandate from the bandits, who robbed them of their vote in the dark of night," Hasan said.