'Main character' Yasmin Rashid made 41 calls during attack on Jinnah House: Punjab IG

• Police have solid evidence of Rashid's role in attack, says IG.
• Recordings of several other leaders also available, he says.
• He says 708 people were identified in Jinnah House attack.

LAHORE: Punjab Inspector-General of Police Dr Usman Anwar has said at the time of the attack on Jinnah House, a total of 315 calls were recorded and among them, 41 calls of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) core member Dr Yasmin Rashid were taped as well, The News reported.

Ten calls of former federal minister Hammad Azhar, 75 of ex-MPA Mahmood-ur-Rashid, 50 of Senator Ejaz Chaudhary, 16 of former Punjab minister Aslam Iqbal, and 23 of ex-Punjab education minister Murad Ras have been recorded, the police chief said in a press conference at the Central Police Office (CPO) in Lahore.

Anwar said Dr Rashid was one of the main characters in the attack on the Jinnah House and the police have solid evidence of it.

He said the court's decision to discharge Dr Rashid from the case will be challenged in the higher court, following the same evidence.

The Punjab IGP, to defend his claims, also showed videos to the media pertaining to the presence of Dr Rashid and the statements of incitement on the occasion of the attack on Jinnah House.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore discharged Rashid from the Jinnah House attack case last Saturday as "no incriminating material is available on record to connect her with the commission of offence".

Despite "all this", the police would continue to do their work only according to the law, the Punjab police chief said.

Answering a question, he said that cameras have been installed at all the police stations of Punjab and all the records are there. Similarly, the arrested accused are being monitored with the help of cameras in the jails and all the records are available.

According to the records, there are 154 calls that were made on 8 and 9 May, while 88 calls were made in the vicinity of Rawalpindi GHQ to provoke the people.

Similarly, 25 calls to political leadership from sensitive installations in Faisalabad were recorded. There were 50 calls on the PAF Mianwali base, which were interlinked with the top five leaders.

These calls were made from there to important people in the top leadership of PTI. The Punjab IGP further said that they had a record of each call, which would be presented in the courts along with other evidence.

He said that 708 people have been identified in the Jinnah House attack and 125 have been arrested. Similarly, 170 people who were present at the Jinnah House have been identified from their WhatsApp groups.

The Punjab IGP has said that the process of identification parade of the accused involved in the incidents of May 9 is ongoing and action is being taken according to the law.

He said that due to false propaganda on social media, Punjab Police are facing unnecessary criticism.

However, the police are doing their work within the law, he added.

'Flawed probe'

PTI leader Rashid’s acquittal in the Jinnah House attack case was the result of a flawed investigation, it has emerged.

According to police sources, Rashid was not named in the case filed on May 9.

They say the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) included her name in the Jinnah House attack case, but the Lahore police and the prosecution could not prove her role in vandalism and arson.

In the FIR, her presence was shown only outside the Jinnah House. Police sources say that after acquittal in case number 96, Yasmin Rashid has been summoned in case number 97, registered under terrorism and other provisions for vandalism near Girja Chowk.

Besides Rashid and other leaders, over 400 unidentified people have been named in the case.

In one video clip, Rashid asked the crowd to go towards the Corps Commander’s House and in another video, she asked them not to enter the house.