— Punjab police chief claims Ali Bilal was hit by PTI leader’s car
— In ‘leaked’ conversation, Maryam advises ‘uncle’ to portray incident as an accident
— Imran laments country “taken over by dangerous duffers’
LAHORE: The caretaker government in Punjab of Mohsin Naqvi has refuted the allegation of police involvement in the suspected custodial killing of a young Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporter in a mental health crisis.
The incident occurred in Lahore on Wednesday when a scheduled election rally, which was yet to commence, was violently stopped by the caretaker government. The police used water cannons and fired tear gas to disperse supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan.
More than 40 supporters of Khan, including Ali Bilal, also known as Zill-i-Shah, were arrested for defying a sudden government ban on holding rallies in the city. Hours later, at least two unidentified people driving a Black Toyota Hilux truck sneakily dropped Bilal, 34, at Services Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The opposition party claimed he was viciously assaulted and killed while in police custody. According to his post-mortem examination, conducted by a team from General Hospital, Bilal died due to massive blunt trauma, including a skull fracture and intracranial haemorrhaging.
Subsequently, on Friday, the police announced the arrest of two alleged suspects, who claimed that Bilal died in an accident involving their car, and not as a result of police brutality.
However, Dr. Usman Anwar, the inspector general of Punjab police, in a press conference on Saturday, denied the involvement of the provincial administration in the incident, calling it an “accident case” that was “unfortunately misinterpreted” by members of the public.
The police official cited CCTV footage and said the suspects had tried to save the victim after hitting him. False videos and messages were posted on social media to portray the police and the administration in a bad light, he added.
ظل شاہ کو گاڑی نے ہٹ کیا۔آئی جی
سوال: کوئی CCTV نہیں ہے حادثے کی۔
آپ میرے پاس آجائیں آپکو سب دکھا دیں گے فوٹیج بھی اور گاڑی بھی،گاڑی ابھی بھی باہر کھڑی ہے آپ سب اسکی بھی وڈیو بنا لیں,آئی جیجب سب میڈیا باہر گیا گاڑی دیکھنے کو تو وہاں کچھ بھی نہیں تھا آئی جی صاحب رفوچکرہوچکے تھے
— Imran Bhatti (@ReporterBhatti) March 11, 2023
Addressing the reporters, Naqvi claimed Raja Shakeel, a leader of the PTI party, whose car he claimed dropped Bilal’s body at the hospital, informed former health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid that Bilal was hit by the car.
Anwar said two people who “brought Bilal to the hospital” had been arrested and the vehicle belonged to Shakeel. He stressed that Bilal was killed due to an accident and that the CCTV footage showed the people who brought him to the hospital trying to revive him.
He also promised to share the investigation with Bilal’s father.
Interestingly, both Naqvi and Anwar failed to explain why Khan was charged with the death of Bilal if it was a road accident.
‘DANGEROUS DUFFERS’
Responding to the presser, Khan, in a scathing tweet, said the police chief and caretaker chief minister, “in any civilised country, […] would have been jailed not just for lying so blatantly but for insulting the intelligence of our nation.”
“This is what happens when the country is taken over by dangerous duffers who believe everyone is as dumb as them,” he said.
In any civilised country, these two shameless people would have been jailed not just for lying so blatantly but for insulting the intelligence of our nation. This is what happens when the country is taken over by dangerous duffers who believe everyone is as dumb as them. pic.twitter.com/X1511Mlc8l
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 11, 2023
Meanwhile, BOL TV released an audio recording allegedly featuring Maryam Nawaz, the senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), proposing to cover up the incident by portraying it as an accident caused by PTI workers.
یہ کیا ہو رہا ہے انکل؟
انکل قتل پر یوں سیاست کی جاتی ہے اور قتل کو یوں اینگل دیا جاتا ہے pic.twitter.com/kHkqpb3iuE— Ameer Abbas (@ameerabbas84) March 11, 2023
The ruling party is yet to comment on the leaked conversation.
More details to follow
