ISLAMABAD: A day after police raids on their residences in connection with the violence witnessed in the Punjab Assembly during the chief minister’s election on April 16, at least 13 leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to seek protective bail.

The party leaders, who made the state and Lahore’s Qilla Gujjar Singh police station head respondents in their identical petitions, inc­luded Rana Mashood, Saiful Malook Khokhar, Adil Cha­ttha, Attaullah Tarar, Shuaib Marth, Malik Ghulam Habib, Sardar Awais, Mirza Javed, Pir Khizer Hayat, Raja Saghir, Abdul Rauf, Bilal Farooq, and Rana Manan.

According to the petitions, the FIR against them was registered on the complaint of Deputy Superintendent of Police Shahzad Manzoor. The petitioners termed the contents of the FIR “frivolous” and based on “mala fide” intentions.

Tarar claims party members being targeted to ‘avenge’ action against Gill

The petitioners said they have a right to approach the court of competent jurisdiction and added that their liberty was at stake as there was strong apprehension of their arrest while approaching the said court for relief. The pleas requested the IHC to grant the PML-N leaders protective bail to enable them to appear before the court concerned for bail. The IHC is expected to take up the petitions on Monday.

The FIR in the case alleged that there was a call for the chief minister’s election in the Punjab Assembly when “a few members of the Assembly attacked the deputy speaker” who was subsequently escorted to his chamber. Meanwhile, a few unknown individuals entered the guest gallery and assaulted the MPAs, it claimed.

APP adds: Speaking to reporters outside the high court, PML-N leader and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Narcotics Control Attaullah Tarar, whose house was raided a day earlier, lashed out at the Punjab government, especially Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, for its role in the raids. He alleged Mr Elahi was facilitating the “anti-state narrative” of former prime minister Imran Khan and called him a “remote controlled” chief minister.

Mr Tarar said the cases registered against the PML-N MPAs in connection with the Punjab Assembly violence were “baseless” as he went on to accuse the Punjab police of allegedly robbing the houses of the said MPAs during the “illegal raids”. Mr Tarar alleged that the PML-N supporters were being targetted to allegedly avenge the arrest of Shahbaz Gill, a close aide of Imran Khan who has been booked in a sedition case.

“Imran Khan through a remote control [CM] was using the Punjab government to target his political opponents,” he alleged and warned of payback. “Parvez Elahi sahib, you and your son [Moonis Elahi] will face the consequences of this new trend that you have set,” Mr Tarar said, alleging that Moonis Elahi was issuing orders to the government officials without any official authority.

He said instead of the PML-N MPAs, cases should be registered against individuals who manhandled the deputy speaker on April 16.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2022