Islamabad Police Crack Down on PTI Supporters with Mobile Phone Checks

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police have reportedly been checking citizens’ mobile phones to identify and arrest supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Numerous residents have attested to having fallen prey to these raids.

This action follows a week after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) conducted a significant demonstration at D-Chowk in Islamabad, which concluded unexpectedly. After the protest, the police forces in Islamabad and Punjab initiated an extensive assault on the participants, labeling them as “miscreants.”

In response to the protest, the government has constituted a joint task force (JTF) intending to identify and monitor individuals responsible for a “massive malicious campaign” that, according to official sources, seeks to undermine the credibility of the state.

A user on Reddit said, “A police officer stopped him and checked the CNIC along with the phone gallery to search for anything related to Imran Khan or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).”

One of the users on Instagram confirmed that his friend was taken into custody from sector F-10 after police found him joining the PTI group on “Facebook”.

Taking on Reddit, another victim stated, “On November 30 at around 2:00 am in F-10 Markaz, police and Rangers officials checked the mobile phones of citizens to search PTI-related videos in their WhatsApp and Facebook. Those having the videos [involving PTI] were detained.”

Another individual verified that a fellow student from his college was detained on the same day after law enforcement discovered recordings of the PTI protest in his phone’s gallery.

On November 30^th, 2024 , Aamir Mughal, the President of Regional PTI Islamabad, issued a warning to party members and officials to exercise caution regarding police investigations in Islamabad, as conveyed in a post on the social media platform X.