CTD officials abduct brothers of Azhar Mashwani during midnight raid

On the night of June 6, 2024, two elder brothers of Azhar Mashwani were abducted by CTD officials and agency men during a midnight raid at their home.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has vehemently condemned the abduction of two brothers of Azhar Mashwani during a midnight raid at their residence. The party called on the Chief Justices of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and Supreme Court (SC) to take immediate notice of this grievous act and ensure their immediate release.

In a strongly worded statement, the PTI Spokesperson denounced the abduction of Prof. Mazhar and Prof. Zahoor Mashwani by CTD officials and state operatives. He urged the Chief Justice of the LHC and the Chief Justice of Pakistan to intervene and secure the release of these non-political individuals, who are dedicated educators and are only being systematically oppressed due to their brother’s affiliation with PTI (which on its own is a fundamental and constitutional right of every citizen).

The PTI Spokesperson also decried the prevailing lawlessness in the country, where the law of the jungle prevails and citizens’ lives, property, honour, and rights are unprotected. He condemned the use of collective punishment, noting that such brutal tactics are unacceptable even in wartime and yet have become common in Pakistan.

It should be noted that Azhar Mashwani had himself been subjected to enforced disappearance for 8 days, his 74-year-old father was detained for 3 days, and his brother, Prof. Zahoor Mashwani, had previously been abducted and made missing for over five months, all in blatant disregard of moral and legal norms.

The acts of enforced disappearance are part of a broader pattern of targeting PTI-affiliated individuals, driven by a pervasive and well-understood fascism.

Azhar Mashwani is the focal person for former Prime Minister Imran Khan and also served as the focal person for Punjab’s Chief Minister, Usman Buzdar, during PTI’s government in Punjab.