ISLAMABAD: Three prisoner vans, transporting over 82 prisoners mostly Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers including three PTI members of a provincial assembly (MPAs) nominated in terrorism cases, were attacked by unidentified persons near Sangjani Toll Plaza.
Police said that unidentified gunmen attacked a police van transporting prisoners nominated in terrorism cases to Attock jail from Islamabad after a court hearing. Three PTI MPAs including Anwerzeb, Liaqat and Yasir Qureshi were also present in the prisoner van.
Prisoners were being shifted on Friday to Attock jail after a court hearing in Islamabad.
The attackers opened fire on the prison vans at the Sangjani Toll Plaza, shattering windows and creating chaos.
Following the assault, several prisoners managed to escape from the vehicles but later the police arrested them.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Nasir Rizvi said that three prisoner vans were transporting a total of 82 prisoners to Attock after a hearing in the court.
Some unidentified persons attacked these vans near Sangjani Toll Plaza, he said, adding that after the attack some prisoners escaped from the van and were later rearrested by police.
He said that the police have foiled the attempt to free prisoners.
However, PTI central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, following the incident, said that PTI workers who were nominated in FIR at Sangjani police station were produced before the court. The court has discharged all the accused from the case.
He said that when PTI workers were discharged from a case they were arrested in another case. Police personnel were carrying the PTI workers to Attock, he said, alleging that the three vans carrying the prisoners stopped at Chungi No 26 and the concerned Station House Officer (SHO) Shabir Tanoli broke the window of the prisoner van. In the same van, PTI workers and MPAs were present, he said.
Waqas claimed that police insisted and have compelled the prisoners to escape from the van. Police is staging a “new drama”, he said, adding that our workers and MPAs were standing there but police were asking our workers to escape from the scene.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024