Interim Punjab Information Minister Amir Mir
The interim Punjab government on Wednesday gave a 24-hour deadline to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to provide police access to “30-40 terrorists that have taken refuge” at Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
“PTI should hand over these terrorists or the law will take its course,” Caretaker Information Minister Aamir Mir told a press conference from the Punjab capital, adding that the government was aware these “terrorists” were hiding in the area due to geo-fencing and credible intelligence reports. “The intelligence report that has come is very alarming,” he said, lamenting that the PTI was increasingly behaving like a “non-state actor.”
A few hours after Mir’s press conference, police blocked all roads leading to Zaman Park and deployed a heavy police contingent in areas around Imran Khan’s residence.
Noting that the PTI chief had been targeting the military since his ouster as prime minister, he alleged that sufficient evidence was available to suggest the PTI leadership had planned the locations of its riots prior to Khan’s arrest. Reiterating that the government had adopted a “zero tolerance” policy for any individuals who participated in the riots of May 9, he warned that interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi had granted a “free hand” to the Punjab Police to deal with the “arsonists.”
To a question, he claimed the attack on the Lahore Corps Commanders’ house could have been easily prevented if the police had not been barred from utilizing weapons. “We wanted to avoid bloodshed in the province,” he said, adding that such leniency would not be shown in future. To another question on the individuals allegedly hiding at Zaman Park, he vowed that they would be made an example so “no one else would carry out such an act in the future.”
Referring to the NSC’s validation of a Corps Commanders’ Conference that pledged to prosecute rioters who attacked military installations in military courts, he said the people already under detention were being scrutinized. “Cases are being forwarded after 100 percent confirmation [of their involvement],” he said, adding that people who weren’t involved in the violence but were present for the protests would be released or face their charges in criminal courts.
Emphasizing that the PTI had crossed a “red line” on May 9, he said 795 attackers had already been identified. Of these, he said, 78 had been physically remanded and 609 judicially remanded.