LAHORE: PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said on Wednesday the bullet-proof car by which she travelled to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) offices was attacked by police from all sides.

“It does not seem that the bullet-proof vehicle which belongs to Nawaz Sharif was attacked with stones as stones cannot damage it [that badly]. It was something else that hit the vehicle,” she said and also posted a video clip of the damaged SUV on her Twitter account.

“See this [damage] and decide if it was only pelting of stones or a well thought out act far more sinister in nature. The police were unaware that the car was an armoured one. What they intended to do is clear. When you can’t prosecute, persecute,” she said.

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“The ambushed black SUV is mine & clearly I am the target. They kept attacking viciously even after the car turned back & ran after it until it was out of range. Unprovoked assault,” she added.

Meanwhile, PML-N President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the handcuffing of detained party workers and leaders during their court appearance.

In a statement, Shahbaz said the act of treating political workers like terrorists and dangerous criminals was extremely disappointing and should be condemned. He said assaulting and torturing political workers and then shackling them in handcuffs showed the “fascist mentality” of this government.

The PML-N president said the current government had sadly turned politics into a revenge drive. He pledged that he would not rest until every single worker and leader of the PML-N was freed.

He paid rich tributes to the PMLN workers and said he was proud of their resilience, conviction and high spirits. He said the PMLN’s enthusiasm had petrified the enemies of the people’s government. “The lawyers are working for their [workers] release and they will soon be free of these fascist shackles,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2020