Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday called off plans to block highways across the country after parliamentarians and workers, who were arrested last night during a raid at Parliament Lodges, were released by Islamabad police. In an audio message shared on Twitter, Maulana Fazl said there was “no need” to block the roads now since all parliamentarians and workers have been released. On Thursday, a heavy contingent of police raided the Parliament Lodges to expel members of the Ansarul Islam — the volunteer force of the JUI-F — who were invited to provide security to opposition lawmakers.
— Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman (@MoulanaOfficial) March 11, 2022
At least four legislators, along with two dozen Ansarul Islam volunteers, were arrested during the operation, police officials told media.
A couple of legislators also courted arrest in protest over the police action at the parliamentarians’ lodgings, they said, adding that all the arrested persons were shifted to a police installation for further action. The opposition held a joint meeting following the operation after which Maulana Fazl directed party workers to open the highways they had earlier blocked in protest against the police operation and set a deadline of 9 am for the government to release arrested parliamentarians and party workers.
The maulana said he was announcing the end of the protest keeping in view the hardships faced by the commuters, including women and children, warning, however, that he would again give a call to his workers to block the highways if those arrested were not released. In his message today, the JUI-F chief again condemned the police’s actions on Thursday, claiming that they “discarded all laws and ethics at Parliament Lodges, baselessly tortured workers and dragged and arrested elected representatives of the public, detained their guests and presented a wrong picture and false narrative to the public”. He thanked his party workers, members of other opposition parties and the people of the country for “taking immediate action and jamming the entire country in less than an hour” and congratulated them for their “success”.
A day earlier, JUI-F lawmaker Maulana Salahuddin Ayyubi reached the Parliament Lodges — where nearly all members of parliament are allotted accommodation — alongside a few dozen motorcycle-riding volunteers. Some of the volunteers entered the lodges with the lawmaker, while others gathered outside the main gate.
Images of their presence outside the lodges aired on news channels caught the attention of authorities, who asked the capital police chief to remove them from the premises, police officials said.
In response, a large force, consisting of an anti-riot unit, police commandoes, the Counter-Terrorism Department, and Anti-Terrorism Force along with prison vans reached the Parliament Lodges — located opposite Parliament House — under the supervision of the DIG and SSP Operations. According to police sources, all volunteers then moved to MNA Ayyubi’s Lodge (A-401) and locked the door.
“Our senior police officers asked them to surrender and surrender, but they refused. Our reaction was different, and all the highways connecting Balochistan with Sindh and Punjab were blocked by JUI-F,” police told reporters. F was stopped by staff at various points. Between Quetta and Karachi, GUI-F activists blocked the national highway at Mastung, Qalat, Khuzdar Atal and Hub.
