ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday rejected an attack on prison vans near Sangjani Toll Plaza, terming it a staged incident orchestrated by federal government and police to re-arrest party workers who were granted bail in October 02 vandalism case.

PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram accused Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Inspector General Islamabad Police of trapping the detainees to “escape” and then terming an attack in a bid to register another fabricated case against them.

He said that the attack on prison vans carrying PTI workers was orchestrated after a local court bailed them out in the concocted cases registered against them.

He said that over 80 PTI supporters had been detained by Islamabad Police following recent protests and were supposed to be released as ordered by the court. “Instead, they have been re-arrested under new charges. Our people are not hiding; they are demanding justice,” he added.

Akram alleged that after a court hearing, the prison vans transporting PTI detainees to Attock Jail were diverted to an area near Faisal Town, where SHO Shabbir Tanoli reportedly intervened, ordering the vehicles to stop and breaking their windows.

“Tanoli told our people to flee, but they remained firm,” he claimed. Akram emphasised that those arrested include government employees and MPAs, stating, “These are individuals of integrity; they were not running away.”

Earlier in the day, a local court discharged two PTI MPAs, 34 KP police officials and 42 personnel from the 1122 Rescue Service who had been detained during a PTI protest at China Chowk in Blue Area.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024