PTI leaders detained, released after 4 hours

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that he was released by the police after four hours of detention on Thursday, after being taken into custody while travelling to Kotli Sattian to attend the funeral prayers of party worker Ijaz Satti. The party claimed earlier today that Raja and several other party workers were detained. "PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, MNA-elect from Murree-Kotli Sattian, Latasub Satti and others were allegedly abducted and taken to Nilore Police Station in Islamabad while travelling to Kotli Sattian to attend the funeral prayers of PTI worker Ijaz Satti," the PTI said in a statement on X. The PTI alleged that the detentions were intended to prevent party workers and supporters from attending Satti's funeral. "First our worker was martyred, and now people are being abducted and arrested to stop them from attending his funeral," the statement said. The party further alleged that the detentions reflected the authorities' disregard for political and religious norms. "The mafia imposed on the country is not only devoid of morality, but, intoxicated by power, has also forgotten all the principles of Islam," it said. In a post on X at 5:32pm, Raja said: "After four hours of unjustly detaining me, Latasob Satti, Ikhlaq Satti and several of our friends, we have been released. The sole purpose was to prevent us from attending the funeral of the late Ijaz Satti. Fear of the public has stripped the decision-makers of reason and sense. Human rights have become meaningless. I am grateful to friends for their well-wishes." Latasob also posted a photo of the PTI members after release. "In this fake government, even attending funerals has become a crime, by God. God willing, the resistance will continue." PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan strongly condemned the detention of Raja and called for his immediate release.