ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Amir Masood Mughal and 25 other persons were booked under separate charges, including terrorism, police said.

The Karachi Company police registered the case under section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act along with sections 353, 186, 148, 149 and 337-Hii of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in response to a complaint lodged by area magistrate Mohammad Sajjad.

According to the FIR, the magistrate along with police and CDA staff went to PTI Secretariat at G-8/4 at around 11:55pm in connection with an anti-encroachment drive. In the meantime, Mr Mughal carrying an iron rod along with 20 to 25 unidentified PTI workers armed with batons and iron rods resorted to firing.

It said Mr Mughal intercepted the CDA machinery demolishing the encroachments. When the police tried to stop him, he and the charged mob attacked the police and CDA staff besides resorting to firing. The police overpowered Mr Mughal while the others escaped.

The capital administration said the CDA conducted the operation to demolish encroachments made on a plot allotted to Sartaj Ali.

A number of other violations were made by the owner, it said, adding notices had been issued to the plot owner several times along with warnings, including on November 19, 2020, February 22, 2021, and June 14, 2022, to remove the violations.

A show-cause notice was also issued on September 4, 2023 for not removing the violations, the administration said. An order was issued on May 10 to seal the plot after the violations were not removed.

The anti-encroachment operation has been launched to enforce the building rules and remove encroachments, they said, adding that the drive to remove encroachments and illegal construction will continue across the city.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2024