PTI claims federal contacts 'ongoing' amid long march call

• PTI conveyed message over recent incidents: Gohar.
• Imran's sisters remain detained for 30 days.
• Petition challenges Aleema Khan's detention order.
  

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar has claimed that contacts with relevant people at the federal level have been "ongoing since last night", adding that the party has conveyed its message regarding the recent arrests.

Barrister Gohar’s remarks came as the PTI prepares for a nationwide protest and march towards Islamabad on September 27, demanding the release of its incarcerated founder Imran Khan and supremacy of the Constitution.

The Imran Khan-founded party has maintained that it will proceed with its planned protest, with preparations for the mobilisation continuing across the country.

Speaking to the media in Peshawar, the PTI chairman said that the party had urged the relevant authorities to refrain from taking such measures, warning that the treatment being meted out to the former premier's family members and party leaders was regrettable.

He said further arrests would aggravate the situation and stressed that the time had come to prevent conditions from deteriorating further. He also emphasised the need to reduce tensions.

Meanwhile, following Aleema Khan, Imran Khan's sisters, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan, have also been placed under detention and transferred to Kot Lakhpat Jail for 30 days.

A petition has also been filed in the Lahore High Court challenging Aleema's detention.

Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the government will adopt a permanent strategy to handle the planned march, warning that the country will not be allowed to remain shut for 10 to 20 days due to demonstrations.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Naqvi said the government would take measures “once and for all” to prevent a repeat of such situations.