Police in Sialkot and Daska registered cases against at least 198 PML-N workers on Tuesday after they took out a rally to welcome convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz upon their return from London on July 13.
Sialkot Saddar police booked 175 PML-N workers under Sections 188, 290 and 291 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the basis of a report filed by Sub-Inspector Maqsood Ahmed.
Meanwhile, the Daska Saddar police registered cases against 23 PML-N workers, including Rana Raza, Hashim Butt, and Naeem Butt, the PML-N general secretary in Daska. These men have also been booked for taking out a rally on the Daska-Sialkot Road.
Police said that the booked PML-N workers indulged in hate speech against law enforcement agencies when they were halted by them in a bid to maintain the law and order situation there.
No arrests have been made with respect to either of these FIRs, but an investigation into the matter is underway.
The Rangpura police separately registered a case against five suspects, including two local Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders Mehar Kashif and Sheikh Kamran for the use of fireworks at Sialkot's Jinnah Stadium upon the arrival of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who was there to address a public meeting on the night of July 15.
A case was registered under Sections 188, 285 and 286 of the PPC on the report of Assistant Sub Inspector Sarwar Ali Mudassar. Police said that the display of fireworks was in violation of the official ban imposed by the Punjab government. The case is being investigated.
Separately, a Lahore sessions court asked police to submit a report on August 7 regarding their lack of response to a request for the registration of a case against PML-N Chairman Shahbaz Sharif and other leaders. According to the applicant, he tried to register a case against Sharif and other PML-n leaders for their remarks against the caretaker setup.
"I tried to get the case registered at the Civil Lines Police Station, after Shahbaz Sharif's July 12 press conference. However, the police are yet to register a case against them," said the applicant.
In the days leading up to Nawaz Sharif's return and subsequent arrest, there were reports of a number of PML-N workers being arrested by the Punjab police.
On the day of his return, police admitted to the arrest of at least 378 people in Punjab. However, Punjab's caretaker ministers, accompanied by Home Minister Shaukat Javed, stated that none of the people arrested in Lahore are political leaders or officials.
