The Punjab police launched a surprise ‘search operation’ at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence – hours after he left to appear before a local court in Islamabad. The police also arrested several party workers outside khan’s Zaman Park residence.
Imran took to social media to announce that the Punjab police have led an assault on his house in Lahore. His wife Bushra Begum was also alone during that time.
The Capital City Police Officer Lahore himself was monitoring the operation. The police used heavy machinery to break down the gate of Imran’s residence.
Police were accompanied by water cannons, bulldozers, and a prisoner van. They soon demolished PTI camps in the area with the help of cranes and removed barriers and containers.
Dozens of activists were arrested from outside the PTI chair’s house as workers resisted and pelted the police with stones. The police then initiated tear gas shelling to control the workers.
The Zaman Park area has been completely sealed and traffic was closed from Dharmapura to Mall Road. Dolphin personnel were present on the opposite side of the canal road, dressed in civilian clothes.
Moreover, identification of workers present in Zaman Park will be conducted. Those who attacked Lahore Police and damaged property will be arrested.
Those arrested were transferred to different police stations. Police officials collected plastic bottles, and stones which were thrown near Zaman Park and along the canal to potentially use them as evidence against the PTI.
