Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said on Thursday that police released him and several associates after detaining them for about four hours as they travelled in connection with the funeral of party worker Ijaz Satti. Contemporary reports confirm Raja’s release after a four-hour detention.
PTI had earlier said Raja, Latasub Satti and other party members were taken into custody in the jurisdiction of Islamabad’s Nilore Police Station while travelling to Kotli Sattian. The party alleged that the action was intended to prevent its leaders and workers from attending Satti’s funeral.
Announcing his release in a post on X, Raja said he had been detained along with Latasub Satti, Ikhlaq Satti and several others.
“After four hours of unjustly detaining me, Latasob Satti, Ikhlaq Satti and several of our friends, we have been released,” Raja said.
He alleged that preventing them from attending the funeral was “the sole purpose” of the detention and criticised the authorities over what he described as violations of fundamental rights.
“Fear of the public has stripped the decision-makers of reason and sense. Human rights have become meaningless,” Raja said, while thanking supporters for their well-wishes.
Earlier, PTI had used stronger language, alleging that Raja and his companions had been “abducted” and taken to Nilore Police Station. No official police explanation for the detention was reported at the time.
The circumstances of Ijaz Satti’s death are themselves disputed. PTI has alleged that he died in police custody and has demanded an independent investigation, while reports indicate that the precise circumstances and cause of his death require official determination.