Police in Lahore have registered a case against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur under various provisions, including the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), for perpetrating violence and damaging public and private property near the Sialkot Interchange while traveling to the provincial capital to attend a PTI rally on Sept. 21.
Gandapur never reached the rally, which ended abruptly at 6 p.m. as per an agreement inked between the PTI and the Lahore administration. However, following its conclusion, he briefly reached the venue and thanked participants for attending.
According to the first information report (FIR) against Gandapur, he led an “armed mob” at Sialkot Interchange and directed it to set vehicles parked at the toll plaza on fire. The FIR alleged the mob was armed with AK-47s and resisted police at the behest of Gandapur, who departed for Lahore while the clash was underway. During the rioting, the FIR alleges, two policemen were injured. A video available on social media shows Gandapur using the butt of an AK-47 to break the windows of a parked truck.
The FIR includes charges of terrorism, attempted murder, and other serious offenses. It alleges that the incited mob had attempted to run over police vehicle with their vehicles and turned violent when police attempted to pacify them.