ISLAMABAD: Former special assistant to the prime minister for political communication Dr Shahbaz Gill has been arrested by Islamabad Police outside Banigala Chowk for inciting violence against state institutions, reported Aaj News.
He was taken into custody for making vilifying comments against heads of state institutions.
Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Murad Saeed and Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said that Gill was “abducted outside Banigala by people who came in cars without number plates”.
They added that windows of Gill’s car were smashed and the people accompanying him were also targeted in the incident.
Reports indicate the former SAPM also sustained an injury during the alleged abduction.
“Shahbaz Gill was arrested. The imported government is in a frenzy,” tweeted Murad Saeed. “How many people will you arrest? The windows of Shahbaz Gill’s car were also broken. There was a terrible plan last night but Imran Khan’s followers sent a clear message, Imran Khan is a red line.”
He added that “those who were part of the American conspiracy, those who traded for the sovereignty of the country, you have lost, the people have rejected you. Every move you make is exposing you more.”
Fawad tweeted that Gill was abducted from Banigala Chowk by people who came in vehicles without number plates.
Meanwhile, details on the incident are pouring in slowly because cellular services in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been suspended due to Muharram processions that are ongoing all over the country including in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Former minister of state for information and broadcasting Farrukh Habib wrote in a tweet “we condemn the arrest of Shahbaz Gill by the fascist government. We cannot be intimidated and suppressed by such high tactics.”
He further called for immediate release of the PTI leader.
Former minister of human rights Shireen Mazari said that the “civilian dictatorship imported government has arrested or abducted Shahbaz Gill from Bani Gala chowk.”
“It is clear a critical word and no arrest warrant you will be taken away! This is the grand design of US regime change conspiracy and its abettors,” she said.