Over 350 leaders of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s party booked under terrorism charges

Lahore: More than 350 leaders and workers of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, have been booked under terrorism and other charges by Pakistan’s Punjab Police.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have been booked under anti-terrorism and attempted murder charges for their alleged involvement in an attack on policemen during their rally in Lahore last Saturday.

Police have started raiding the residences of the leaders for their arrest.

Gandapur is also accused of vandalising a plaza, breaking windows and smashing CCTV cameras.

Other senior leaders have been booked for facilitating the escape of absconding leader Hammad Azhar in the Lahore rally.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said on Wednesday that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Gandapur wanted to attack Punjab on the pretext of rallies which she will not allow.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader asked him to focus on his own province for the welfare of people instead of doing politics of destruction.

Khan's supporters on Saturday had managed to hold a successful power show in Lahore despite a police crackdown and blockade of roads in the city.

This was the first rally by the PTI that was allowed to be held after the May 9, 2023 incidents in which the party supporters allegedly attacked military installations in the wake of Khan’s arrest.

The party has been holding rallies primarily for the release of their incarcerated leader Khan who has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.