KARACHI, Pakistan
Amid former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's legal victories, police raided the central office of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in Islamabad on Monday.
Police said the raid was conducted for "running a disinformation campaign against the country."
The PTI reported that several of its members, including the party’s spokesman Rauf Hassan, were arrested during the raid.
A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu that the PTI office was raided after gathering “concrete evidence.”
“An international disinformation campaign was being run from there (the office) by the party’s digital media cell to malign Pakistan and the armed forces," the official claimed.
The raid came days after the PTI secured a major legal victory when the Supreme Court ordered the country’s election body to allocate legislative reserved seats to the PTI.
Over 220 reserved seats for women and minorities in parliament and provincial legislative assemblies had been allocated to the ruling alliance following the February 8 general elections.
Khan, who has been in jail since last August, saw his convictions overturned. However, he remains in prison on charges related to violence on May 9 last year.
The police have been put on high alert in the capital in anticipation of protests against the raid.
The Pakistani government, including powerful Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir, has repeatedly warned that “inimical” forces and their abettors have unleashed “digital terrorism” and are attempting to create division between the armed forces and the people of Pakistan through “lies, fake news, and propaganda.”
PTI condemns raid
The PTI condemned the raid, calling it “shameful.”
“It’s absolutely shameful how Islamabad Police continues to completely mock and disregard every law in this country,” the party said in a statement on X. “The law of the jungle is reigning over Pakistan,” it added.
The party also shared footage on the X platform showing several police vehicles and personnel outside the party’s central secretariat.
Khan, 72, currently serving a sentence in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi on multiple charges, including corruption and inciting violence, claimed in an interview with The Sunday Times last week that he is being “caged like a terrorist” and is “denied basic prisoner and human rights.”
The rare interview, conducted via his lawyers, reported that Khan is not allowed a pencil and paper.
The Pakistani government denies these claims, stating that the imprisoned former prime minister is being provided with all facilities as per jail regulations.