ISLAMABAD: Punjab Inspector General (IG) Police Dr. Usman Anwar said on Sunday the violent protests that followed former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 was not a spontaneous response to the development but had been in the making for a long time.
His statement came only a day after an anti-terrorism court acquitted a senior leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Dr. Yasmin Rashid, for lack of “incriminating material” against her.
Rashid was said to be among the PTI leaders who incited angry protesters to target government buildings, including the residence of a top army general, and set them on fire.
The authorities filed charges against her on the basis of leaked audio recordings in which she seemed to be instigating PTI supporters to vandalize state properties.
Rashid maintained the audio clips were “doctored” to falsely implicate her in the rioting case. Her acquittal from the court was celebrated by the PTI which said it had exposed “false propaganda” against its leaders.
“It [the violent protest] was not a spontaneous response or a kneejerk reaction of certain individuals who got angry because their so-called red line was crossed,” the IG Punjab said while referring to Khan’s arrest. “It was something which was preplanned.”
He said there was sufficient evidence of PTI’s involvement in the May 9 protests which was available in the form of videos, phone calls and social media posts.
He added that the call data of some of Khan’s party leaders for March 8 and May 9 was quite similar.
The law enforcement agencies tried to arrest the top PTI leader from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on March 8, though they met significant resistance from PTI supporters who resorted to violence against police contingents.
Prior to the statement of Punjab IG, police announced the decision to challenge the anti-terrorism court verdict in Rashid’s favor in front of the country’s higher judiciary.
“The court order is being challenged as police was not given opportunity to present forensic evidence in the case,” it was said in a Twitter post.
The police maintained investigation in the May 9 violence was “carried out on scientific lines,” adding the truth would soon be brought before the public.
