APML convention: FIR registered against Musharraf, 50 workers
Police say party didn’t seek permission before holding public gathering.
LAHORE:
The City Division police on Saturday registered an FIR against 50 workers of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) including the party president, Pervez Musharraf, for holding a public gathering allegedly without obtaining the permission from the district coordination officer.
The FIR was registered with the Tibbi City police station at around midnight after an APML workers’ convention was disrupted by the Punjab Police on Saturday night. The police had removed chairs and party flags and dismantled the stage. The party workers were charged with unlawful assembly and Musharraf with holding a video address without the mandatory prior permission.
Dr Shehzad Asif, the superintendent of police, told The Express Tribune that political parties were all aware that holding a public gathering without acquiring a permit was illegal. He said the district coordination officer had to be informed before hand. However, he refused to disclose the names of the accused in the FIR. None of the party workers has been arrested, he said,
Senior APML leader Javed Badar showed concern over the insertion of ‘serious’ Pakistan Penal Code sections in the FIR by the police. He also objected to the party president being named in the FIR. “Our party will not be intimidated by the Punjab government’s tactics of registering FIRs against political rivals,” he said.
Badar said that the police should provide a copy of the FIR to the party so that it could take the matter to court.
Talking to The Tribune, APML general secretary Fawad Chaudhry said that since Musharraf was outside the country, the police should have sought permission from the federal government before registering a case against him.
An FIR could only be registered with consent of the federal government against those who committed an offence while abroad.
“The Punjab government is fearful of Musharraf’s popularity and has seized on this opportunity to harass the party workers using the police,” he said.
Chaudhry said that he has formed a committee to examine the FIR and pursue the case. If the FIR was not de-sealed, he said, the workers would start a campaign of volunteering for arrest.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2011.
The City Division police on Saturday registered an FIR against 50 workers of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) including the party president, Pervez Musharraf, for holding a public gathering allegedly without obtaining the permission from the district coordination officer.
The FIR was registered with the Tibbi City police station at around midnight after an APML workers’ convention was disrupted by the Punjab Police on Saturday night. The police had removed chairs and party flags and dismantled the stage. The party workers were charged with unlawful assembly and Musharraf with holding a video address without the mandatory prior permission.
Dr Shehzad Asif, the superintendent of police, told The Express Tribune that political parties were all aware that holding a public gathering without acquiring a permit was illegal. He said the district coordination officer had to be informed before hand. However, he refused to disclose the names of the accused in the FIR. None of the party workers has been arrested, he said,
Senior APML leader Javed Badar showed concern over the insertion of ‘serious’ Pakistan Penal Code sections in the FIR by the police. He also objected to the party president being named in the FIR. “Our party will not be intimidated by the Punjab government’s tactics of registering FIRs against political rivals,” he said.
Badar said that the police should provide a copy of the FIR to the party so that it could take the matter to court.
Talking to The Tribune, APML general secretary Fawad Chaudhry said that since Musharraf was outside the country, the police should have sought permission from the federal government before registering a case against him.
An FIR could only be registered with consent of the federal government against those who committed an offence while abroad.
“The Punjab government is fearful of Musharraf’s popularity and has seized on this opportunity to harass the party workers using the police,” he said.
Chaudhry said that he has formed a committee to examine the FIR and pursue the case. If the FIR was not de-sealed, he said, the workers would start a campaign of volunteering for arrest.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2011.