Though Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including their chairmen Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan, were booked in five cases, the charges against them would only be framed once the accused have been found guilty.

However, over 200 activists of PAT and PTI, who were arrested between August 30 and September 2, were sent to jail on judicial remand. They were arrested on charges of murder, attempted murder, arson and storming of the Parliament and Pakistan Television buildings.

Another 600 people, including former senator Azam Khan Swati, DJ Butt, 10 gunmen of Dr Tahirul Qadri, and those involved in violating ban on pillion riding, were arrested from Islamabad on September 13.

Under the law, police are supposed to submit the charge-sheet against the accused in the court within 14 days of their arrest.

The PTI chairman, Imran Khan, and PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri were booked for instigating the attack on the Parliament House and getting an MPA freed from Secretariat police lockup, but no action has been taken against them as yet.

Their activists, however, were arrested by Aabpara and Secretariat police and all were shifted to a jail on judicial remand.

A senior police officer said: “Cases against the leadership are politically motivated, and once their talks with the government succeed, FIRs against them would be quashed.” He said they had orders from the government not to proceed with the said cases until they received instructions. Most activists were arrested from hospitals where they were being treated for the injuries they received during a clash with police on August 30.

The police officer said before the start of the sit-ins, the government had plans to arrest PAT and PTI leadership but the police had advised that their arrest would deteriorate the situation. Therefore, no effort was made to arrest them, even though the police had a clear chance on August 30, he added.

Five cases were registered against PAT and PTI leadership and their activists at Secretariat police station, three at Kohsar, two at Margalla and one each at Aabpara, Bhara Kahu and Koral police stations.

Besides storming the government buildings, ransacking the PTV offices and breaking the fence of the Parliament House, the activists were also accused of pelting the building of a private media house, official car of Supreme Court judge Justice Saqib Nisar with stones.

In the PTV building case, the director news, in a complaint with the police, alleged that the political activists broke into the headquarters of Pakistan Television and took over the programming control room and forced the staff to take the transmission off-air. They also ransacked the offices and took TV cameras with them, besides holding the staff hostage, the director news had said.

In another case, Deputy Secretary Parliament Syed Afsar, in his complaint, stated that during the night of August 30 Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri, along with thousands of their activists, broke the iron fence of the Parliament House and entered its premises.

“They blocked the road and set the containers, put up for security, and trees on fire,” he said, adding that the attackers also uprooted the iron frame around the plants and pelted police with stones. In one such case, Constable Mohammad Rukhsar complained that he was performing his duty at Federal Board of Revenue when 10 participants of the sit-in beat him with batons. The attackers snatched Rs23,000 and his official identity card, along with other documents.

The constable further alleged that the attack was conducted on the instigation of PAT leaders Rahiq Abbasi and Qazi Faiz.

The PTI and PAT activists were also accused of ransacking Pakistan International Airlines office on Fazl-i-Haq Road in Blue Area. In another complaint, lodged with Kohsar police station, the driver of the Supreme Court judge Justice Saqib Nisar said the PTI and PAT activists pelted the official car of the judge with stones on Faisal Avenue. The activists were also booked for attacking a school in G-6/2 where Punjab police officials were staying.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2014