PA brawl case: LHC seeks record from CCPO on protective bail

Lahore High Court’s Justice Ali Zia Bajwa sought details from Lahore CCPO about whether any detention order or FIR exists against Punjab Assembly’s secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti who sought protective bail in light of his apprehension of being arrested by the police.

From morning to the afternoon, police officials and Bhatti played hide and seek as the former continued to seek his arrest, while the lawyers tried to protect him.

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 the 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 the gallery also created chaos in the assembly and damaged the valuables of the assembly”.

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

The lawyers resisted the arrest, claiming there is a clear direction of the court for not arresting anyone from the court premises.

The police officials made attempts to arrest Bhatti from both out and the inside of the court premises but lawyers foiled these attempts owing to their strong resistance.

It is pertinent to mention that PA secretary Bhatti had appeared before the court of Justice Shujaat Ali Khan on a matter involving Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab who had challenged a letter issued to him by Bhatti, seeking IGP’s explanation of his acts on April 16, in light of a privilege motion submitted against him. In previous proceedings, Justice Shujaat had directed Bhatti to appear before the court by April 28 along with the record of the privilege motion.

After attending the court proceedings, Bhatti was leaving the court premises when police officials tried their best to make his arrest but all in vain.

The lawyers told Justice Shujaat about the conduct of police officials to which Justice Shujaat directed the IGP to ensure free movement of Bhatti from LHC to Punjab Assembly premises.

As the police contingents increased, the lawyers having apprehension also obtained bail from the said FIR. Meanwhile, another petition was filed seeking protective bail.

Advocate Azhar Siddique and Amir Saeed Rawn told the court that neither they are being provided with any FIR or the detention order but the police officials had cordoned off the LHC.

At which Justice Bajwa sought a report from CCPO Lahore about the complete record if it exists by Friday.

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.

Also read: Nine PTI MPAs granted pre-arrest bail in Punjab Assembly brawl case

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 four Punjab Assembly Secretariat officials – Bhatti, secretary coordination Inayat Ullah Lak, special secretary Amir Habib and security officer Sardar Akbar Nasir – from service for not cooperating and following his lawful directions.

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