Punjab Assembly secy, police play hide and seek on LHC premises

Lawyers rush PA officer inside high court; tell police premises off their jurisdiction

LAHORE:

Lawyers foiled on Thursday Punjab police's attempt to arrest provincial assembly secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti from outside the gates of the Lahore High Court (LHC), in an FIR registered against unknown persons for attacking police officials inside the Punjab Assembly chambers on April 16.

Lawyers rushed Muhammad Khan Bhatti inside the court, and advocate Ahmad Saeed Rawn informed police officials that the high court's premises did not come under their jurisdiction. The police officials and Bhatti played hide and seek as the former continued to seek his arrest, while the lawyers tried to protect him.

According to reports, a heavy contingent of police officials dressed in uniform and plainclothes lay in wait outside the court premises. Later, the police entered the high court but lawyers resisted them from making an arrest and took Bhatti towards the Pakistan Bar Council’s office.

The police surrounded the parameters of the LHC as station house officers (SHOs) were reportedly in conversation with their senior officials regarding Bhatti’s location, adding that he would be arrested as he left the high court.

Read Nine PTI MPAs granted pre-arrest bail in Punjab Assembly brawl case

Muhammad Khan Bhatti’s arrest warrant is part of an FIR registered in Qila Gujar Singh police station which stated that “some assembly members on April 16, fixed for contest on Chief Minister’s slot, attacked the Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari with kicks and fists. The members and some unknown persons from gallery also crated chaos in assembly and damaged the valuables of the assembly”.

Punjab Assembly chaos

On April 16, the Punjab Assembly turned into a battlefield as the session held to elect a new chief minister escalated into full-blown violence.

In an unprecedented move, the house saw a heavy contingent of police flooding its premises, thrashing lawmakers and physically evicting them.

The acrimonious session saw unruly scenes when a scuffle broke out between the PML-N and treasury members as the former supported the police's move to remove PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi from the house while the latter intervened to stop it. The lawmakers jostled with the police officials and resisted their actions while some supported them.

In response, acting speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari suspended from service four Punjab Assembly Secretariat officials including Bhatti for not cooperating and following his lawful directions.

Mazari suspended PA secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti, secretary coordination Inayat Ullah Lak, special secretary Amir Habib and security officer Sardar Akbar Nasir.

"I am the acting speaker and it is my constitutional obligation to conduct the election of the chief minister Punjab in a peaceful and transparent manner," the suspension order stated.