LAHORE: Several people were injured after a violent clash between police and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supporters outside the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on arrival of the party vice president Maryam Nawaz to record her statement in a case related to 'illegal' acquisition of land at Raiwind for the Jati Umra residence of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Maryam was scheduled to appear before a combined investigation team (CIT) at around 11am at NAB headquarters on Thokar Niaz Baig. When the PML-N leader's caravan reached outside the NAB premises, the situation got violent after 'plainclothesmen' started pelting stones at police deputed for security outside the NAB office.
According to footages on social media and also aired by TV channels, vehicles of the party workers and supporters, used in the caravan, were allegedly laden with bags full of stones. In retaliation, the police baton charged the supporters and used teargas to disperse them. Several people were injured in the clash and police took dozens of supporters into custody for taking law into their hands.
As the situation turned violent, the PML-N vice-president uploaded a video of her car's broken windshield on her twitter account and claimed that "police had pelted her car with stones as a result of which the windshield had cracked".
In another tweet, she wrote: "I strongly condemn police shelling, use of teargas and lathi (baton) charge on peaceful party workers who came to show solidarity with me." She also shared pictures of the injured workers. However, Maryam left the scene after learning that the NAB had postponed her appearance till indefinite period.
The NAB in its statement accused Maryam of 'displaying hooliganism in an organised manner' through her party workers. Maryam was summoned in 'personal capacity' but she created disorder instead, the statement added.
"Such an attitude has been seen against a constitutional and national institution for the first time in 20 years in which not only windows of the building were broken but employees were also injured," the statement read. The bureau said it "strongly condemned that the PML-N workers and various miscreants had tried to interfere in legal proceedings in an organised manner".
On the instruction of NAB chairman Javed Iqbal, the bureau announced to file an FIR against the PML-N leaders and workers for 'interfering with the state's work.' "NAB is a national institution and it is only affiliated the country and the people. It does not have connections with any political party or group and all its activities are conducted according to the Constitution and the law," the bureau added.
Later in the day, Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat along with Information Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan told a presser that registration numbers of most of the vehicles carrying stones were faked. However, the violators are being identified through CCTV cameras of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) and FIRs would be lodged against those who were involved causing damage to the state's installations, they said.
Basharat said the media footages have exposed the hooliganism of the PML-N to pressurize NAB during Maryam Nawaz's appearance. He said the footages showed that it was a planned hooliganism activity by the PML-N so it was inappropriate for Maryam Nawaz to say that she was targeted. "The PML-N never respected national institutions and they cannot pressurize NAB by such cowardly acts."
Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan said the attitude of Maryam was condemnable, adding that she is following in the footsteps of her father Nawaz Sharif by attacking the NAB. The information minister alleged that the PML-N had distributed Rs 1 million among its workers for pelting stones at the law enforcers during Maryam appearance before NAB.
Moreover, taking notice of the clash, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar sought a detailed inquiry report from the chief secretary Punjab and IG Police and directed them to take legal action against the responsible.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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