Police net more suspected rioters

Team spends day in hospital to detain ailing Yasmeen Rashid

LAHORE:

Police and other law enforcement agencies continued a manhunt on Sunday for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers involved in agitation and violent acts after former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest.

The police arrested PTI leader Mehmoodur Rasheed and several party activists.

A police team remained at the Services Hospital the whole day to arrest Dr Yasmeen Rashid. She had been arrested three days back but had been admitted to the hospital after her health deteriorated. Doctors said her CT scan was conducted twice along with other tests.

Her condition was said to be stable, but the doctors did not advise police to arrest her from the hospital.

The investigators, along with arresting the protesters involved in arson and rioting throughout the province, focused on nabbing those suspected of attacking military installations, especially the Jinnah House in Lahore.

An advertisement carrying photographs of the suspects identified from the videos and pictures of the attack was also published by the home department.

The police teams have so far arrested at least 3,186 suspects from different districts across the province.

The spokesperson for Punjab Police said 157 officials had been injured in the violence in the province, while 95 vehicles were damaged. The police said their 27 vehicles in Lahore, 19 in Rawalpindi, 21 in Faisalabad, nine in Mianwali, four in Multan, five in Sialkot, three in Gujranwala, two in Jhang, and one each in Attock and Toba Tek Singh were damaged. Three vehicles of constabulary were also set on fire. In addition, 13 private vehicles were also damaged by the miscreants.

Meanwhile, the Lahore police along with the military and Rangers conducted flag marches on all the main roads of the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2023.