Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar has refuted the reports of a Punjab, GB police face-off during the Zaman Park operation.
Earlier, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb had claimed that that the police force of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) pointed their guns at personnel of the Punjab police during the operation to arrest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan from his Lahore residence, Zaman Park.
While speaking to a private news channel, the Punjab police inspector general said that it shouldn’t be assumed that personnel from one province had pointed guns at their counterparts from another.
“We are all servants of the state,” he clarified, adding that although the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister and another minister’s security personnel went outside during the police operation, nothing like what had been reported in the media had occurred.
Punjab IGP Anwar made it clear that ‘there is no civil war in the country.’ “The application of the law of the land will be ensured by all police forces.”
Responding to a question, the Punjab police chief stated that “police leniency should not be considered its weakness.” He added that ‘we have been asked to ensure that there is no no-go area in the city.’
Earlier, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb claimed that former prime minister Imran Khan deployed the Gilgit-Baltistan police force against the Punjab Police, and the government subsequently transferred Gilgit-Baltistan Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammad Saeed.
“When a heavy contingent of Punjab and Islamabad police reached the entrance gate of Zaman Park, the officers and personnel of the Gilgit-Baltistan Police pointed their guns at them, after which they moved back to save their lives,” she added.
On the other hand, federal government sources privy to the matter said that Gilgit-Baltistan police personnel are still present inside Imran Khan’s residence despite the transfer of Gilgit-Baltistan Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammad Saeed.
Sources said that the newly-appointed Gilgit-Baltistan Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dar Ali Khattak, has been directed to examine this matter as per law.
