Daily Times

Punjab Interim Information Minister Amir Mir Friday said that a “deadlock” persists between the provincial government and PTI Chairman Imran Khan regarding the search operation at the former prime minister’s Zaman Park residence.

“No agreement has been reached on the search operation,” he told a private TV channel.

“We did not want to take an extreme step. Therefore, headed by the Lahore commissioner, a three-member delegation visited Imran Khan’s residence and held a 1.5-hour meeting with him.”Khan sahib was given the names of people involved in the attack on the Lahore Corps Commander House and Askari Tower and evidence was handed over to him. “But no agreement was reached regarding a search operation.” The provincial minister said that, in an attempt to keep the peace, the government team provided the PTI chief with a list of 2,200 terrorists wanted for the attack, some of whom are believed to be hiding in the Zaman Park area. But Mir said the PTI chief voiced his discomfort at the prospect of such a large police force conducting the operation in his residence and its surroundings, saying he would allow only four police officers to search his house. “We have provided a list of 2,200 people wanted for the attack. We have learnt through geo-fencing that some of these people are hiding in Zaman Park. But Khan sb insisted that he cannot allow so many police personnel to carry out the operation,” he said.

Mir claimed that, during the meeting, Imran Khan insisted that the suspects being named by the government “are not here, maybe they are underground”. Mir said that suspects already arrested by police have given information that some terrorists are hiding in the Zaman Park area, which was further corroborated by geo-fencing data. “Ten of the miscreants who attacked the Corps Commanders’ house in Lahore, they were located in Zaman Park area through geo-fencing,” he claimed. Mir added that some of the suspects include members of Imran Khan’s family, including Hasaan Niazi and Zubair Niazi. The minister also named PTI leaders Murad Saeed, Azam Swati, and Hammad Azhar as suspects in the search.

Earlier in the day, the Lahore police claimed the arrest of six more “terrorists” who were attempting to flee from the residence of PTI chief Imran Khan in the provincial capital. The police added that out of the six “terrorists”, four were involved in the attack on Askari Tower in Gulberg, while two were involved in the Corps Commander House attack. Meanwhile, Punjab Interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has ordered the police to end the blockade outside PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s residence on the condition that “encroachments inside Zaman Park” are removed.