• Local leader claims police ransacked furniture, took away CCTV cameras, LCDs, documents
• DC office claims PTI did not ‘follow up with its permission request’
• Omar Ayub terms action ‘state terrorism’

LAHORE: At least 80 PTI workers were captured during an overnight crackdown, while the residence and offices of a local party leader and his family were raided in the early hours of Sunday morning in what appeared to be a bid to block a workers’ convention that the party had planned after obtaining ‘formal maiden permission’ from the district administration.

PTI candidate for National Assembly from NA-123 (Kahna Nau), Advocate Afzaal Azeem Pahat had formally sought permission to hold a corner meeting in the constituency and preparations were accordingly afoot. PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif has contested from this constituency in the past.

However, the police raided Mr Pahat and his elder brother’s residence and offices early in the morning.

According to PTI leaders, police entered the private quarters without warrants and harassed the men, as well as the women and children of their household. Police also picked up some 80 PTI workers and supporters from the convention venue and Mr Pahat’s law offices.

Following the crackdown, the planned convention did not take place.

Condemning what he described as “state terrorism” against party workers, PTI secretary general Omar Ayub Khan commented, “One country, two systems”.

“PTI Workers Convention organisers’ home and law chambers are raided and vandalised, but a convicted, absco­nder prisoner, Mian Nawaz Sharif, is given full protocol,” he lamented in a posting on X.

The party pointed out that it had obtained permission for the public meeting from the deputy commissioner’s office, which had directed the DIG (Operations) and the Chief Traffic Officer, Lahore, to take the required measures in this connection.

On the other hand, the deputy commissioner’s spokesman, when contacted, told Dawn that the DC office had never issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the public/corner meeting. It claimed they had only issued a letter to the DIG Police (Operations) and CTO Lahore, for “necessary action” and then afterwards neither the PTI applicant nor the civil administration approached the DC office for formal permission.

The spokesman claimed the DC office also did not recommend launching any legal action.

Answering a question whether the PML-N had sought a formal NOC for holding workers’ conventions and corner meetings in Lahore, the spokesman said such small events did not need NOC from the DC office but were managed at a lower level i.e. the police station concerned.

The raid

Posting a video on social media, Mr Pahat said police raided his and his brother’s law chambers and ransacked furniture and fixtures and took away CCTV cameras, an LCD and documents. “The police [came] in 15-20 vehicles [and] raided and ransacked a lawyer’s office which was tantamount to terrorism,” Mr Pahat stated and added that he would “take them to task”.

PTI Lahore information secretary Shayan Bashir told Dawn that convention preparations were being made but the news of police and plainclothesmen raid early in the morning created panic among supporters.

Even after Mr Pahat’s law chamber had been ransacked, the party continued its preparations for the convention but the situation changed completely when police brought in several prison vans to the venue at around 1:30pm.

He alleged that police baton-charged party workers and even thrashed journalists and YouTubers, who were there to cover the convention. He said some workers escaped and reached Mr Pahat’s law chamber but they were chased by the police. Police picked up some 80 PTI workers and took them away in prison vans.

The spokesman sarcastically said PTI workers have now realised what level-playing field is and added the encouraging aspect was that several people had still mustered up courage to come out on roads carrying party flags. He alleged that PML-N was holding workers’ conventions and corner meetings without getting any permission from the DC office.

Summing up the situation, secretary general Ayub Khan said the Punjab police along with armed men in plainclothes had raided the house of Mr Pahat without a warrant. Attaching a video, he stated that plain-clothed and baton-wielding people could be seen in the video and police did not show any warrants upon request.

He stated that permission for the convention was granted by the DC as per the Lahore High Court’s instructions.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2023