Punjab police visit Atta Tarar's Lahore residence, serve notice to cooperate with investigations

Published
26
The Punjab police pasted a notice for investigation outside PML-N leader Atta Tarar’s residence on Saturday. — DawnNewsTV
The Punjab police pasted a notice for investigation outside PML-N leader Atta Tarar’s residence on Saturday. — DawnNewsTV

The Punjab police paid a visit at PML-N leader Atta Tarar's residence in Lahore in the wee hours of Saturday and delivered a notice ordering him to appear before the authorities for investigation, Home Minister Hashim Muhammad Dogar said.

Tweeting the development earlier today, he revealed that a notice had been served to the PML-N leader. He added that if the politician understood the law, he would follow the police's orders.

According to a statement issued by the police, Tarar was not at home when the officials arrived there, adding that no one had been arrested or detained.

Meanwhile, in a tweet after the raid, Tarar said that the police had raided the residence where he lived 15 years ago. "Mr Hashim Dogar, I thought you were a minister, but you turned out to be a very frivolous character," he said in a tweet.

"What are you trying to prove by sending police to the house I lived in 15 years ago? You will run the ministry in this situation? Do not go so far in defense of anti-national statements."

Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Muhammad Dogar told Dawn.com that notices were sent to Tarar and PML-N leader Rana Mashhood to appear in an investigation into the Punjab Assembly attack case.

In April, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi registered a case against PML-N leaders for ‘torturing’ him during the election of chief minister in Punjab Assembly on April 16.

Meanwhile, PTI focal person Azhar Mashwani claimed that the police had raided Tarar's house in connection with PTI's Azadi March on May 25.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry confirmed the same at a press conference later in the day, where he said that an inquiry against Tarar has begun. He also urged the PML-N leader to “come out of hiding” and clarify his position.

During the PTI's May 25 march, authorities had invoked Section 144, a measure used to curb gatherings, and had placed shipping containers on major thoroughfares to block the participants' path.

The marchers also met with tear gas and were baton-charged too. The PTI places the blame for all these events on the ex-provincial government, which was led by PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz.

The party leaders particularly blame Tarar and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah for employing "fascist and undemocratic" techniques to stop PTI supporters.

Subsequently, when the PTI government came to power in Punjab last month, it decided to initiate an inquiry into the events of the march. Resultantly, earlier this week, the Punjab government sacked 25 station house officers (SHOs) for their alleged involvement in police action against the PTI.

It is also pertinent to mention here that the raid comes a day after the Lahore High Court barred the Punjab police from harassing PML-N leaders Tarar, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan and Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan.

The order was passed after they had alleged that the police were bent upon arresting the petitioners in fake and politically motivated cases.

Opinion

Editorial

Kashmir unresolved
Updated 30 Sep, 2026

Kashmir unresolved

The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
Water shortage
30 Sep, 2026

Water shortage

THAT the country is entering the Rabi season with an anticipated water shortage of nearly 25pc, the lowest carryover...
Young hearts
30 Sep, 2026

Young hearts

THE observance may have passed, but the message of World Heart Day should not fade with it. The occasion is a useful...
Terror and politics
Updated 29 Sep, 2026

Terror and politics

There is an urgent need to tone down the rhetoric and tackle terrorism as a collective challenge for both the affected provinces and the federation.
Watching the glaciers
29 Sep, 2026

Watching the glaciers

THE latest signs from Pakistan’s mountains are worrying. Suparco says the number of unfrozen glacial lakes it...
Dangerous agenda
29 Sep, 2026

Dangerous agenda

AS the world remains fixated on the US-Iran conflict, elsewhere in the Middle East, Israel is consolidating its grip...