ISLAMABAD: A member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly was briefly detained in police lockup along with his guards after they allegedly manhandled a police team deployed at a checkpoint.

Police officers told Dawn that a five members’ police team of Sangjani police station was deployed at the checkpoint in the area near the Toll Plaza, where they spotted a vehicle with tinted glasses and strange registration number CIA-111 after sunset on Tuesday.

The police team intercepted the vehicle and stopped it at the checkpoint, they said, adding that a man disembarked from the vehicle and followed by seven gunmen, from another vehicle. The man started arguing with the police team and shortly his guards took the policemen at gunpoint, the officers said, adding the guards also started beating up the police team.

The police team somehow sent ‘SOS’ message and in repose, Sangjani police SHO reached the spot along with police, they said, adding they overpowered the guards and later the man along with the guards were shifted to Sangjani police station along with the vehicles and put behind the bars.

Later, the police came to know that the man was an MPA of the KP assembly, and the guards were police officials of KP police.

After some time a dozen people armed with modern and sophisticated weapons reached the police station in three different vehicles, and asked the police officials deployed there to set the man and his guard free.

After getting the information senior police officers, including SP Sadar Zone and SSP Operations also reached the police station.

Later an MNA from the ruling party intervened in the matter and settled the issue between the police and the MPA, the officers said, adding that the MNA and the MPA were affiliated with the same political party.

The MNA was of the view that since both sides had exceeded their limits and mistreated each other.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2025