ATC Sargodha issues arrest warrants for PTI’s Omar Ayub – M Haris

• Omar Ayub says authorities are “desperate” to have him arrested.
• PTI leader says “struggle” to continue until Imran back in power.
• PTI’s Ayub says Islamabad, Mianwali police raided his residence.

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Sargodha has issued arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Omar Ayub, as his party leaders remain embroiled in legal battles.

Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Ayub, in a statement on X, also confirmed that the warrants have been issued, and slammed the “desperate” authorities for trying to nab him.

“Bailable arrest warrants issued for me by ATC Sargodha, but Mianwali Police and Islamabad Police teams went to my Islamabad house to arrest me a few minutes ago,” he said.

The top PTI leader, whose party has recently rejected his resignation from the top office added: “The form 47 Federal Government, Punjab Government, and agencies must be very desperate to arrest the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.”

Slamming the authorities further, he said that they “will prove beyond doubt that there is no rule of law in Pakistan” and vowed that the party would continue their “struggle” until PTI founder Imran Khan comes back into power.

The PTI’s top brass has been embroiled in legal battles since the party’s ouster from the government in April 2022 as they held back-to-back anti-government protests across the country.

But the situation turned worse when the party’s workers ransacked and attacked state installations on May 9, when the party founder was arrested in a graft case, leading to the arrest of several leaders and workers, while others left the party.

Although PTI claims that the cases against its workers and leaders are “baseless” and those in power want to “victimise” them, the government has maintained that it is not involved in political victimisation.