Islamabad police suspend five officers over raid at Barrister Gohar Khan's house

• Police manhandled Barrister Gohar family, claimed PTI leader.
• CJP Isa had also ordered inquiry into the matter.
• DPO city appointed as inquiry officer, says capital police.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police said on Sunday that five officers including Margalla Police Station SHO were suspended a day after a “mistaken” raid at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan’s residence in Islamabad.

A special force of the Islamabad police on Saturday conducted a raid at the house of the Barrister in Islamabad’s F/7-2 area to arrest the absconders involved in the May 9 violence and other anti-state activities, according to The News.

The police manhandled the family of Barrister Gohar, damaged property, and took away valuable documents, mobile phone sets and laptop, Barrister Gohar’s relatives told the media.

Barrister Gohar was pleading PTI’s electoral symbol at the time police raided his house. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa had also expressed concern over the incident and directed the additional attorney general (AGP) to look into the matter.

In the statement today, the capital police said on the afternoon of January 13 (Saturday) at 2:00pm, the local police reached F-7/2 to apprehend a proclaimed offender on the tip of an informer.

When the police party came to know that the said house was the residence of Barrister Gohar, the raiding police party came back immediately, the statement added.

CJP Isa had summoned the Islamabad Capital City Police Officer (ICCPO) and ordered an investigation into the matter. “The honourable court directed the ICCPO to personally hear the grievance of Chairman PTI about the incident,” it added.

The statement said the PTI leader was assured that departmental action would be taken if any police officer was found guilty.

The DPO city has been appointed as an inquiry officer with the directions to hold a fact-finding inquiry into the matter and submit a detailed report within three days.

“After preliminary inquiry 5 officers, including SHO Margalla, have been suspended until further orders. An inquiry is being conducted, and strict action will be taken against the officials who violated the law.”

Barrister Gohar, who was at that time pleading the PTI case in the Supreme Court, got information about the incident and rushed to his house.

The PTI leader, while talking to the media, said that masked police personnel broke into his house and spread out in the building and stormed into rooms to search the house, adding that they handcuffed one of his sons and tortured his wife and other members of the house.

He asserted that they took away valuables including documents, laptop, and snatched away mobile phone sets from his sons. Gohar, later, captured footage of his house with witnesses and submitted it before the Supreme Court bench hearing the case.

Islamabad IGP Dr Akbar Nasir later visited the house of Barrister Gohar, the police had said and added that the raiding party went to the house on a tip-off but came back after learning that it was the house of the PTI leader.

The IGP, while talking to the media, said that it was an “ignorance-based” raid but as they got information that it was the residence of Barrister Gohar, they came back.