All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) has announced to observe 'Black Day' on Tuesday and would hold countrywide protest rallies against the deportation of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and arrest of political leaders.
The government on Monday deported Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia on his arrival from London after four hours long meeting with him at Islamabad Airport where he landed at about 8:40 am.
The APDM termed the deportation as a sheer violation of fundamental rights of a citizen and most importantly contempt of court as the apex court had recently ruled that the government should not only allow Sharif family to come to their homeland but also not create any hurdle in their return. The leaders are in exile under a controversial 'agreement' between Sharif family and Saudi Arabia.
In a major crackdown in the twin cities, law enforcement agencies arrested a large number of senior leaders and workers of APDM under 16 MPO including Raja Zafarul Haq, Javed Hashmi, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Iqbal Zafar Jhagrah, Ahsan Iqbal, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Dr Qadir Magsi, Tehmina Daultana, Memoona Hashm and many others.
The MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed has appealed all political parties, lawyers' community, civil society organisations and general public to support them in their agitation against the rulers who, he said, violated law, constitution and human rights by forcefully deporting a former prime minister.
Later at a press conference, Malik Naeem Awan, PML(N) secretary labour wing, Arif Khan Jatoi, president, Sindh labour wing and Sikander Ali, vice president labour wing claimed that more than 8,000 workers including women have been arrested.
Malik Awan also alleged that women were harassed and humiliated during arrest and shifted to some undisclosed places. Their infants are in miserable condition, he added. He further said that a number of party workers received severe injuries during clashes with the law enforcement agencies in the twin cities. They also condemned the manhandling of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif during his deportation.
Malik further claimed that whereabouts of a large number of party workers are still not known as they left different cities of Punjab to receive their leader. They also claimed that most of the workers have been kept at different places in surveillance of armed personnel of the law enforcement agencies.
He was of the view that they would continue their struggle for a transparent political and democratic system whereas Shahbaz Sharif and Kulsoom Nawaz would soon come to Pakistan to lead the party.