Islamabad [Pakistan], May 24 : The Capital Development Authority demolished a portion of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) central secretariat in Islamabad over a "violation of building rules", Geo News reported, adding that the Imran Khan-founded party came down heavily on the CDA over its action.
In a statement, the CDA said its anti-encroachment team launched an operation on Thursday to remove illegal construction and encroachment. The operation started around 11.30 pm (local time) and ended in an hour.
The CDA said encroachment by a 'political party' was being removed, adding that the plot was allotted in the name of a person identified as Sartaj Ali. The CDA said an additional floor was built on the plot in violation of the building rules, according to Geo News.
The government body said it had issued notices to PTI but to no avail. As the operation was being conducted, the party founded by former PM Imran Khan urged its workers to immediately arrive at the secretariat. The PTI said that the government began demolishing the office in an "illegal and unjust manner."
While the CDA said that it had issued several notices to PTI, the party chairman, Barrister Gohar Khan, said they had not received any orders from the CDA.
Khan said that CDA officials were asked to provide documents about the operation, however, they were unable to produce them. He stated, "If there had been any encroachments and they had informed us about them earlier, we would have removed them ourselves."
Speaking to reporters outside the office, PTI secretary-general Omar Ayub took a swipe at the CDA, stressing that the party would raise the issue of the CDA in the assembly, according to Geo News report.
Ayub said, "The PTI condemns the CDA action in the strongest terms." He stressed that the city administration began the operation at night without prior notice. He also added that police authorities arrested PTI leader Amir Mughal, Geo News reported.
After the completion of the operation, the CDA officials sealed the PTI's central office and pasted the order on it. During the operation, PTI activists resisted CDA's attempts to demolish the office, resulting in some party workers being arrested by Islamabad's authorities.
In a statement shared on X, PTI Islamabad stated, "Late night armed invasion and vandalism of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf central office Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf strongly condemns the invasion of the biggest political party of the country by the mandate thief government in the dark of night. Reiterating our commitment not to bow down to intimidation, lawlessness and blind use of force and not to give up in any way from the agenda of true freedom."
"The mandate thief and his followers are shocked to see their end in front of their eyes. Tehreek-e-Insaf spokesperson The illegal invasion of the central secretariat of Tehreek-e-Insaf is a reflection of the fear within them. Fools are considering our unwavering commitment to the constitution and law and our determination to carry forward the political struggle in a peaceful manner as our weakness," it added.
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