The opposition had announced the proposed moot earlier this month.

In a post on social media platform X, the opposition alliance announced the formation of the six-member committee, which will include: Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri; PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan; TTAP’s Secretary General Asad Qaiser; Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar; spokesperson Akhwanzada Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai; and PTI Core Committee member Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry.

According to the statement, the committee will liaise with other political parties regarding the proposed moot, consult them on its agenda and work towards reaching agreement on the way forward.

The notification said the committee would continue its consultation and coordination process under the guidance of the TTAP leadership.

On Sept 11, the opposition announced it intended to hold consultations to call an all-parties conference to discuss several issues, including the creation of new provinces, law and order and the economy.

At the time, Barrister Gohar, speaking to the media after a meeting of his party with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), had outlined plans to hold an all-parties conference, saying that “the current law and order situation, the economy, inflation, lawlessness, and the creation of new provinces issue” called for such measures.

The Sept 20 order, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Ali Ijaz had ordered their detention or arrest under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960 (MPO).

The MPO allows the authorities to order detention and restrict judicial review of such orders.

The DC also directed the arrest of a Muhammad Ameer in his order, adding, “Their custody shall be placed under the superintendent, Central Jail, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore. They shall be at liberty to make a representation to the provincial government against this order.”

In his order, the DC cited a letter by the Lahore capital city police officer. The order stated that the letter referred to police reports that said Aleema and Ameer “are prejudicial to the public safety and maintenance of public order”.

The reports also mentioned that the two had been involved in roadblocks and protests on May 9, 2023, when PTI supporters and workers took to the streets against Imran’s arrest.

“They motivated the workers to damage public and government property. Moreover, they are again mobilising the workers through social media and public meetings to create law and order situation, raising/chanting objectionable slogans amongst the general public against the government/institution in order to provoke and incite them,” the order read.

It said multiple cases had been registered against the two. declaring them “potential dangers to public peace and tranquility”.

According to the order, the Civil Lines Division superintendent of police and district intelligence branch in-charge recommended their detention under the MPO for a 30-day period “in order to keep the law and order situation in the city intact”.

Dawn has reached out to police for a comment but there has been no immediate response.

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan posted on X that he had been informed about Aleema’s “arrest” by her sister, Noreen Niazi.

The development takes place amid reports of a crackdown on the PTI ahead of its Sept 27 protest, which the party has called to demand Imran’s release from jail and mobilise people for the supremacy of the Constitution.

In his post, Gohar said, “We have clarified that our protest will be peaceful. Our objective is to peacefully struggle for the fulfilment of our constitutional and political demands; we don’t want any kind of clash or violence.

“Arresting Aleema Khan sahiba under the MPO in this situation is tantamount to fuelling violence and tension. We strongly condemn it.”

He called for an end to all such actions and demanded Aleema’s immediate release.

The party would soon present its strategy against such actions, he said.

Earlier, the PTI posted on X that Aleema had been “abducted” in Lahore from outside her home by the authorities.

PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram also demanded in a post on X that Aleema be presented in court immediately.

“A sister is being punished for speaking up for her brother,” Akram alleged.

In a statement, the PTI termed Aleema’s “arrest” a “cowardly and deliberate attempt to worsen the situation”.

Meanwhile, opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) also condemned the arrest in a statement.

The statement said the move was tantamount crossing all limits of “state oppression and political revenge.

“The TTAP strong condemns this step by the government, especially the Punjab government. This action exposes the Punjab government’s current oppressive system,” it added.

The opposition alliance said Aleema’s arrest would not be tolerated and demanded her immediate release.

“The Punjab government must realise that oppression, arrests and revengeful acts cannot resolve political differences,” the TTAP said, reiterating its demand for Aleema’s release, as well as that of other “political prisoners”.

Aleema’s arrest follow a string of reported actions against the PTI in Punjab ahead of its Sept 27 protest.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi alleged during his visit to Punjab last week that he had “abducted” by authorities in Lahore and later “thrown” by the roadside. He also claimed a man had been sent to kill him.

The Punjab government had swiftly refuted the claims of arrest, while the Wazirabad police clarified that the man accused by Afridi was a police constable deployed on security duty for the CM.

Earlier, district authorities had also issued preventive detention orders against dozens of PTI workers under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order, including 31 in one Punjab notification and a further 14 in Toba Tek Singh.

Similar reports have come from Islamabad, to where the PTI plans to march on Sept 27. But, the government has vowed to stop the march and the Islamabad High Court has ruled that no political party or its leadership has the “lawful right to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas and buildings in Islamabad”.

More to follow.

The launch came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea — also called the Sea of Japan — as part of what it later described as a joint firepower drill.

It also followed Pyongyang’s rejection this week of a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog demanding that it halt its nuclear activities.

“Our military detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea at around 3pm (0600 GMT),” South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement.

The military said it had stepped up surveillance and vigilance for possible additional launches, while South Korea, the United States and Japan were “closely sharing information” on the missile.

The office of the Japanese prime minister also confirmed the launch, saying on X that the projectile was a “suspected ballistic missile”.

Japan’s defence ministry later said the projectile had “already fallen”, without giving further details.

South Korea’s presidential National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting following the launch to review Seoul’s response and assess the launch’s impact on national security, the presidential office said.

The government called on Pyongyang to “immediately cease” its ballistic missile launches, describing Sunday’s firing as a “grave act” that violated UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea accused “hostile forces” of seeking to end the country’s nuclear programme during this week’s General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A foreign ministry spokesperson said the IAEA resolution “has no effect on the DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state”, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.

North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state, with its leadership declaring the country’s atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, recently said the country’s nuclear-armed status was “absolute”, and called those hoping for its denuclearisation “idiots”.

US President Donald Trump said in August that North Korea possessed 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons, while South Korea has put the figure at between 80 and 120.

In a post on X, PTI claimed that authorities “abducted” Aleema from outside her home.

PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram also made the claim in a post on X, demanding that Aleema be presented in court immediately.

“A sister is being punished for speaking up for her brother,” Akram alleged.

Dawn has reached out to police for comment.

More to follow.