Case registered against 700 PML-N supporters

MULTAN: A case against has been registered against 700 supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Sadar Jalalpur Pirwala police station on charges of staging a protest in front of the election office of by-poll candidate Ahmad Mujtaba Gilani, violence against policemen and snatching guns from them on the day of by-election in PP-206 Jalalpur Pirwala.

Hundreds of PML-N supporters protested and burnt tyres at Gharib Nawaz Flour Mills on June 5 in front of the election office of Gilani, who was later elected as Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) from the constituency.

The protesters were demanding the release of PML-N candidate Naghma Mushtaq Lang’s bodyguard Bilal Lang, a member of a banned outfit.

Bilal Lang was wanted by police in connection with a number of serious crimes and was arrested on the day of the by-polls.

The protesters surrounded the election camp of Gilani and tried to set it ablaze.

They also manhandled police officers who had tried to stop them.

Protestors also snatched three rifles and one pistol from the police officers and pelted police vehicles with stones.

The police have registered a case on the complaint of Station House Officer Saddar Jalalpur Pirwala Munawwar Hussain Gujjar against 700 anonymous persons under articles 16, 353, 395, 427, 148 and 149 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.

Police have said that they will soon conduct raids to arrest the accused.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2010.