On Friday 18th March 2022, PTI (Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf) workers forcefully entered the Sindh House in Islamabad after protesting for hours outside against the dissident Members of National Assembly(MNAs) staying in the building.
Around two dozen dissident PTI MNAs had moved into the Sindh House to seek refuge from the government’s wrath for going against Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier this week.
The PTI workers climbed the wall and broke the door gates of the Sindh House to enter the premises. While protesting against the turncoats, these workers carried lotas in their hands. Lota is a derogatory term used for turncoats. The protestors also smashed the lotas with their feet. MNA Ataullah Niazi also joined these protests.
PPP leader Sharjeel Memon has called this attack a failure of the Islamabad police and the interior ministry. He said, “We consider the attack on Sindh House an attack on the Sindh province.” The police later took control of the situation.
More than 12 PTI workers arrested by police for attacking #SindhHouse. Situation seems better now.
— Wajahat Kazmi (@KazmiWajahat) March 18, 2022
Initially, the protests were peaceful but the situation soon turned violent. The interior minister Sheikh Rasheed issued orders to arrest the PTI workers involved in the protest. According to social media posts, 12 PTI workers were arrested by police for attacking Sindh House. Two PTI MNAs namely Attaullah Niazi and Faheem Khan were also arrested.
The voting on a no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan government will take place between March 26-30. The Speaker of the National Assembly is expected to call the session on March 22.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and some cabinet ministers had accused the opposition of indulging in horse-trading ahead of the crucial vote on the no-confidence resolution, disclosing that Sindh House in Islamabad had become a center for buying and purchasing members. After this, several MNAs from the ruling PTI had revealed that they were hiding at the Sindh House. The claims of the opposition having won over the members of the ruling party had thus appeared to be true.
