Police stop Shah Mahmood Qureshi from joining farmers protest

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police stopped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi from participating in the ongoing farmers’ protest in the federal capital, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi told ARY News that police stopped him from joining farmers’ protest in Islamabad’s F-9 Park and they also threatened to arrest him.

The PTI vice-chairman condemned the government’s tactics and said that his right to protest was violated and the government could not suppress the voices of the masses via such actions.

He said that police officials claimed to receive orders from the higher authorities to stop him from joining the farmers’ protest. He questioned whether Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah was giving such orders to the police force.

He alleged that the interior minister has completely sealed the federal capital. Qureshi added that the policemen told me to get permission from the deputy commissioner but he was not receiving his telephone call.

He said that the cops then changed their statement that he was not allowed to go there as the interior minister was going to hold talks with the farmers.

Qureshi blamed the government for pushing toward food crisis and the farmers were put under siege. He criticised that those who were facing open and shut corruption cases have gotten clean chit and are now pushing the country into another crisis.