Imran booked under another ATA case

ISLAMABAD:

PTI Chairman Imran Khan and other leaders as well as activists of the party on Sunday were booked in a case of terrorism at Islamabad’s Golra Sharif police station for setting government vehicles ablaze, attacking cops and snatching away their official weapons.

Besides, the federal capital police rounded up 14 more PTI activists in various raids in the day after registering a case against Imran and other party leaders as well as workers under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the CTD station.

A day earlier, the PTI chief had reached the G-11 Judicial Complex accompanied by 4,000 activists to appear before a district and sessions court in the Toshakhana case – in which he faced charges of concealing details of the gifts he had acquired from the depository in his asset declarations submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which had then filed a complaint against him.

However, the police and activists engaged in fierce clashes outside the complex as the latter wanted to escort their chief onto the court premises but the former did not permit them to do so because of security arrangements, compelling the judge to put off the proceedings till March 30 and cancel Imran’s non-bailable arrest warrants after marking his attendance at the gate.

On Saturday night, Imran and other PTI leaders as well as activists were booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at Ramna police station in the federal capital.

The police said the fresh case against Imran and others was registered on the complaint of Special Branch Bomb Disposal Squad’s ASI Riazul Haq.

In his complaint, the ASI stated that he and his team were escorting  Imran for his security and were ordered to keep their vehicle in front of his.

As soon as they reached the G-11 Signal Toll Plaza on Srinagar Highway, they signalled Imran’s vehicle to park next to a container so it would be easier for the BDS team when they left.

The ASI maintained that Imran’s vehicle parked at the G-11 signal. However, he added that at 3:15pm, several PTI leaders including Zulfikar Bukhari, Azam Swati, Malik Saleh, Raja Tahir Nawaz, Hamid Zaman Kayani and others attacked the BDS vehicle with sticks and stones.

The ASI claimed that as soon as he and the other BDS personnel left the vehicl, they were manhandled by the PTI leaders, who also snatched their official weapons away from them.

They later destroyed their equipment and set their vehicle on fire.

The police also said that the 14 arrested PTI activists, who were rounded up by Shalimar police for attacking the judicial complex, were produced before a court along with the party workers taken into custody a day earlier.

They were sent to Adiala Jail on judicial remand.

Separately, at least three more cases were registered against PTI activists at Lahore’s Race Course police station for torturing cops, damaging their vehicles and snatching their valuables as well as weapons.

The police said the PTI activists had manhandled a constable passing near Zaman Park and also attacked an Elite Police Force team.

DIG Operations Afzal Kausar held a news conference at his office to inform the media about these developments.

The DIG said a police constable identified as Shafiq was returning home on his motorcycle.

As soon as he reached outside Zaman Park, the PTI activists were infuriated when they saw him.

They beat him up and destroyed his motorcycle as well.

The DIG said the PTI activists also attacked an Elite Force team.

He added that the Elite Police team was trying to pass near Zaman Park when PTI activists surrounded them. They beat up the policemen, snatched their weapons away from them, damaged their vehicle and pushed it into a nearby canal.

The third registered case was related to alleged torture on the police on Friday, as the teams went to Imran’s Zaman Park residence with search warrants.

The cases were registered under Sections 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted committed In consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise provided for), 291 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 395 (punishment for dacoity), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees),  440 (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

As these incidents were reported, traffic wardens in the surroundings areas were warned to take alternative routes instead of Zaman Park.

The DIG operations during the news conference denied these reports, saying that this was not their policy.

“These instructions might have been issued by lower ranking officers,” he added.
He said each and every citizen including policemen were allowed to pass throughout the city.

He added that attacking uniformed policemen was a crime and vowed that the law would take its course.

He also pledged to arrest the people involved in the attacks on policemen.

The DIG said nobody would be allowed to turn a part of Lahore into a “no-go area”.

The PTI too registered a case at Race Course police station against the  raid at Imran’s residence a day earlier.

The party alleged that the police also raided the homes of PTI leaders including Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Hafiz Junaid Gujjar.