Lahore Model Town Police apprehended Muhammad Asif aka DJ Butt on Wednesday over alleged violating COVID-19 SOPs. Butt is an entertainer who gained fame from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s 2014 sit-in, his arrest comes ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM’s) December 13 Lahore rally, for which he was expected to arrange the sound system – as he has for its past public meetings.
His arrest opened the doors of criticism on the PTI government as it was Prime Minister Imran Khan who had himself condemned DJ Butt’s arrest during the party’s 2014 sit-in in Islamabad. Commenting on the arrest, PDM spokesperson Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the government was acting irrationally because it was scared of the opposition’s might. He said the government was resorting to cheap tactics and had already closed a few shops that could provide chairs for the rally. “A security threat alert has also been issued for Minar-e-Pakistan five days prior to the rally,” he said, adding that the authorities have waterlogged the area. Hussain further maintained that the government was using the pandemic as an excuse against the opposition.
