LAHORE: The police have booked top leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), including imprisoned chairman Imran Khan, following the protest in front of the General Headquarters (GHQ) and suspected ransacking of the Lahore Corps Commander’s official residence.
The first information report (FIR) was registered in Rawalpindi under 10 criminal sections, including sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997 and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) with the RA Bazaar police station.
The FIR claimed that a police team deployed near Gate No. 1 of the GHQ reported an aggressive mob of 250 to 300 people, led by former PTI minister Raja Basharat, attacked the gate, shouting slogans against the army, and attempting to enter the building.
However, they were intercepted by the gatekeepers.
A police party headed by a senior superintendent of police (SSP) is currently conducting raids to arrest Basharat and around 200 participants involved in the protest.
Back in Lahore, several PTI leaders have been booked in complaints registered at the Race Course and Sarwar Road police stations in Lahore for their alleged involvement in the protests.
At the Race Course police station, former minister Hammad Azhar and 80 other suspects have been booked under the terrorism law based on a complaint lodged by Station House Officer (SHO) Aftab Nawaz.
The report indicates that Azhar led a mob that attacked the area surrounding Club Chowk, hurling abuses against the army, judiciary, and sensitive institutions.
Another FIR was registered at the Sarwar Road police station concerning the protests in the Cantonment neighbourhood, on the complaint of Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Rana Ashfaq.
The case includes murder, attempted murder, and 20 other sections of the PPC.
Troops were deployed in Islamabad on Thursday after the arrest of former prime minister Khan triggered two days of violent protests by his supporters.
TROOPS DEPLOYED
Khan was remanded in custody for eight days on corruption charges on Wednesday, following months of a political crisis that saw the ousted leader wage a campaign of defiance against the powerful military.
Khan’s arrest has enraged supporters of his party, who have clashed with security forces in several cities and marched up to the headquarters of the army.
The party accuses the military of having orchestrated Khan’s ouster in April last year. The military denies any involvement.
“If they think that the arrest of Imran Khan will demoralise us, then they are hugely mistaken,” said protester Niaz Ali on Wednesday in Peshawar, where several monuments and government buildings were torched.
“We stand with Imran Khan and will support him till death”.
At least seven officials from PTI’s central leadership were arrested and detained, accused of orchestrating the protests, Islamabad police said early Thursday.
The government on Wednesday approved the deployment of the army in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad to restore peace. Islamabad police said troops had already entered the capital’s sensitive “red zone” where government buildings are housed.
— With AFP
