LAHORE: Police on Tuesday arrested seven armed persons from the parking lot of the Sessions Court.

The suspects were armed with sophisticated weapons – five rifles and five pistols – and had 700 live bullets.

The entry of the armed men in the highly sensitive zone and crowded place of the court once again raised question about the security mechanism which is often criticised because of frequent armed attacks and killings of people appearing in courts. The police personnel deputed for the security in court were alerted by lawyers when they noticed presence of the suspects.

According to police, the suspects came there to pursue a criminal case proceedings which were fixed in court on Tuesday. Police said the suspects were identified as Muhammad Shahroz, Muhammad Imran, Ahsanullah, Asif, Bilal Ahmed, Faisal and Riaz Ahmed.

A police official said the arrested persons had been shifted to the Islampura police station and booked under anti-terrorism charges.

CCPO Ghulam Mahmood Dogar commended the Sessions Court police security in-charge and his team for ensuring timely action and arrest of the armed men.

He said the Lahore police had been put on alert for the security of the judiciary, lawyers and applicants in courts.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2021