Police identify rioters in Punjab Assembly; arrests expected in 24 hours
Among lawmakers identified through videos were Fayyaz Chohan, Umer Tanveer, Rana Shahbaz, Abida Bibi, and Momina Waheed
April 18, 2022
- Findings reveal women lawmakers were also involved in attacking police personnel.
- Senior police officials held a round of talks with the secretary.
- Punjab police are expected to arrest lawmakers within next 24 hours.
LAHORE: The Punjab police are expected to arrest lawmakers who were involved in a brawl that broke out in the Punjab Assembly on Saturday.
Over the weekend, the police had requested the secretary of the Punjab assembly for the CCTV footage of the incident on the day of the election for the chief minister of the province. However, the secretary refused to release the video recordings.
Following that, senior police officials held a round of talks with the secretary. But the talks also ended up in a fiasco.
The police then seized the CCTV records as well as the equipment to identify the rioters. Based on the recordings, the police are expected to make the arrests in the next 24 hours.
As per the findings, women lawmakers were also involved in attacking police personnel on Saturday.
Others identified through videos obtained by the police show several PTI members of the Punjab Assembly, including Fayyaz Chohan, Umer Tanveer, Rana Shahbaz, Khayal Ahmad Kastro, Mahinder Pall Singh, Wasiq Qayum Abbasi, Nawabzada Waseem, Abida Bibi, Momina Waheed, Zainab Umar, Shahida Ahmad, and Asia Amjad.
The video recordings also clearly show that the Punjab Assembly staff allowed the PTI lawmakers to take lotas into the hall before the session began.
On Saturday, as the Punjab Assembly met to elect a new chief minister after Usman Buzdar resigned, lawmakers from the ruling PTI tossed lotas at Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, while some slapped him and pulled his hair.
When police officials entered the assembly halls to tackle the situation, many then turned towards the cops and attacked them.
Separately, Mazari has also constituted a nine-member committee to probe the incident. But the Punjab Assembly officials have refused to accept the committee’s jurisdiction by terming it "unconstitutional".
