RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi police have registered cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and other serious criminal charges against top leaders and activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Senior police officers including Regional Police Officer (RPO) Babar Sarfraz held a joint press conference with Rawalpindi CPO and Attock DPO to give details of the incident.
According to police, 28 cases have been registered in Rawalpindi division. Police confirmed that high-profile figures were named in the cases, highlighting the extent of alleged involvement, including former prime minister Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, Aleema Khan, former president Dr Arif Alvi, Former Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser and former Prime Minister Imran Khan were included. Federal Minister Hamad Azhar along with hundreds of workers.
The PTI’s protest call on November 24 turned violent, resulting in several arrests and injuries, senior police officials said.
The RPO said that despite assurances of peaceful protest, thousands of PTI protesters engaged in violent activities as they entered Rawalpindi. They pelted stones at the police, hurled tear gas shells and assaulted the officers.
Despite the violence, the police showed a lot of restraint. The protesters repeatedly announced to march towards Adiala Jail. The protest followed previous calls for protests by the same political party.
The RPO reported that 170 police personnel were injured in Rawalpindi division, of which 25 are in critical condition. He said that two people were injured due to bullets. On November 24, the total number of police personnel injured across the region reached 262, including SSPs and DSPs.
Notably, the police did not report any injuries among the protesters.
A total of 1,151 protesters were arrested, including 64 Afghan nationals. Authorities recovered weapons, ball bearings and spiked clubs from the arrested Afghan nationals. Only four had valid identity cards. The remaining Afghans were considered to be in the country illegally.
Protesters are accused of arson, damage to property and direct firing at police in Attock. Police reported 11 vehicles were torched, and 32 cases were registered in the Rawalpindi region.
The RPO emphasized that Rawalpindi has experienced relative peace and stability in recent months, making this level of violence particularly alarming. The police specifically highlighted the involvement of the militant wing in the protests.
Police sources say that 20 cases have been registered in seven police stations of Rawalpindi division, including four cases in Hazro police station, seven in Hasan Abdal police station, one case in Dhamial, two in Wah Cantt, two in Sadiqabad police station, two in New Town. A case has been registered. , Taxila two cases, Fateh Jang police station two cases, Chakwal one case and Airport police station one case. The cases have been registered under charges of terrorism, attempted murder, vandalism, arson, rioting, assault on police personnel and blocking roads.
The cases were registered after violent incidents during protests between November 24 and November 27.
PTI activists are accused of damaging property, setting fires, creating chaos and assaulting law enforcement officials.