Unidentified armed assailants on Friday attacked three prison vans transporting several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers and activists, as well as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government workers and cops, triggering a new war of words between the federal government and the opposition party.
According to a spokesperson for Islamabad Police, the assailants targeted the vans with guns and sticks while it was transporting people detained after the PTI’s D-Chowk protests earlier this month. He said a total of 82 accused were in the vans, which were transporting them to Attock Jail after a hearing when they were attacked.
The claimed PTI MPAs Anwar Zaib, Liaquat, and Yasir Qureshi attempted to flee the scene after the vans were brought to a halt, adding several other inmates had similarly attempted escape. However, they said, the inmates were swiftly re-apprehended by police. Authorities issued videos of the assailants targeting the vans as they approached the Sangjani Toll Plaza, with police alleging an ambush was planned, with the culprits waiting for the vans to arrive.
The gunfire, said police, had burst the tyres of the vans and also damaged some windows, while four policemen were injured. After the attack, a heavy contingent of police was deployed to the area and a search operation initiated to nab the culprits. The Islamabad police chief told media that of the 15-20 attackers, cops detained four. He claimed this included a policeman, an MPA’s son, and two other individuals.
Shortly after the attack, both the PTI and the federal government accused each other of staging the assault. In a statement, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram alleged the Islamabad police had “staged” the incident to lodge fresh cases against PTI workers. Claiming the vans had contained over 80 PTI workers and lawmakers, he said they were produced before court for their hearing in the D-Chowk protest case.
According to Akram, the court had discharged all the accused in the original case and they were subsequently booked in another case lodged at Secretariat Police Station. He alleged a station house officer (SHO) and other cops had shattered the windows of the police and prison vans and “staged” an escape attempt, which the PTI cadres had refused to facilitate.
Similarly, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur issued a video statement describing the incident as a “drama” staged by the government and Islamabad Police. He demanded the safe transport of all accused, warning that otherwise the PTI would hold responsible the interior minister, inspector general of police, deputy inspector general of police and other senior officers.
In contrast, the federal government accused the PTI of “staging” the incident to “illegally” secure the freedom of the inmates. Addressing a press conference, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar alleged up to 30 persons in four cars had attacked the vans in an escape attempt, adding police had successfully repulsed it. He also maintained all inmates who had attempted to flee were re-arrested and that authorities had recovered weapons and two cars as well as arrested four assailants.
To a question on the PTI accusing the government of staging the attack, he claimed authorities had CCTV footage proving otherwise. He vowed that authorities would trace the remaining two vehicles and take them into custody, adding anyone found colluding with the attackers would also face the law.