The Punjab police’s raid grew more intense on Monday as tensions escalated, blocking PTI electoral headquarters as well as the residences of party members and supporters. Fear increased when disturbing accounts of alleged harassment emerged, with a focus on female employees in particular.
The PTI emerged from the chaos, claiming that their jailed NA-118 nominee, Aaliya Hamza, and PP-148 candidate, Saba Dewan, had their election office forcibly sealed by the police and anonymous people wearing masks.
A PTI representative expressed serious concern about the abuse of female employees at the NA-118 election office. They described how the women were threatened with violence by the police and people wearing masks, who threatened to harm them if they persisted in their campaign against PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz.
Will the Election Commission of Pakistan take notice of this fascism?” the spokesman asked and added that the nation would take revenge and defeat the “mafia” with the power of their vote on Feb 8.
He said law enforcement personnel abducted a high court lawyer, Khalid Ranjha, and his 70-year-old ailing father by breaking the door of their house in Sargodha on Sunday night.
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Meanwhile, a police raid in Gujrat disturbed the peace of Zahoor Elahi House. Chaudhary Qaisara Elahi, the PTI nominee for NA-64, and her sister Sameera Elahi, a candidate for PP-34, described the terrifying incident at a press conference. They related how the cops broke into their house and demanded nomination and polling agent paperwork. They allegedly took a servant hostage, snatched voter lists and electronic devices, and caused chaos when their demands were unfulfilled.
The youngest daughter of Zahoor Elahi, Sameera Elahi Chohan, expressed her anger at the police’s abusive methods, claiming they were retaliatory after the traders in the city’s commercial center gave them a warm welcoming.
She condemned the attempts to pressure PTI supporters and vowed that such tactics wouldn’t sway the electorate.
Veteran politician Javed Hashmi found himself at the doorstep of authority in Multan. When police attacked his home in the Makhdoom Rasheed neighborhood, they took his grandson, son-in-law, and servant into custody. Among those jailed was his son-in-law and PTI-backed candidate Shahid Bahar Hashmi.
The events highlighted the heated climate leading up to the elections, with targets of intimidation and compulsion changing their political loyalties. The PTI candidates’ and their supporters’ resolve persisted in the face of difficulties, committed to democratic principles and the goal of winning elections.