Daily Times

Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab Dr Usman Anwar has claimed that the call data from the riots that took place on March 8 and May 9 shows significant similarities. On March 8, Ali Bilal alias Zillay Shah, allegedly died of police violence and torture after their personnel launched a crackdown on PTI activists and supporters staging a rally near party chief Imran Khan’s Zaman Town residence in Lahore to kick off its election campaign.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, the IGP Punjab, flanked by other senior officers, revealed that out of the total calls analysed, 154 calls were found to be identical, while Yasmin Rashid was responsible for 41 calls. Additionally, he said that the identities of 170 individuals involved in the incidents were traced through WhatsApp groups. Further shedding light on the events that transpired on May 9, the IGP Punjab explained that the attacks were meticulously planned and carried out simultaneously at specific targets, including Jinnah House, GHQ, and Radio Pakistan, among others. “We have record of each call made during these incidents and we are presenting them as evidence in court,” he added. Dr Anwar highlighted that even the Pakistan Air Force was targeted during these incidents.

He expressed concern over the desecration of martyrs’ memorials on May 9 and denounced the propagation of propaganda against media organisations on social media platforms.

Dr Usman Anwar said that the process of identifying the suspects is going on with regard to the nature of the crime and action is being taken according to the law. He said that due to the false propaganda on social media, the Punjab Police is facing unnecessary criticism. He further said that the help of modern technology has been taken for the arrest, identification and other legal proceedings of the accused, from which it has been revealed that the attack on sensitive facilities across Pakistan, including the attack on Jannah House on May 09, was a complete and systematic planning at one time. He said that the May 9 attacks were clearly instigated by the PTI leadership while inciting the workers on social media. The targets were pre-set and planned at a specific central point.

He said a total of 215 calls were made to instigate the attack on Jinnah House on May 09, including the calls of Yasmin Rashid, Aslam Iqbal, Murad Ras and Mahmood-ul-Rashid. According to the records, 154 calls were made on 08 and 09 May while 88 calls were made in the vicinity of Rawalpindi GHQ to provoke. Similarly, 25 calls to political leadership from sensitive installations in Faisalabad were recorded. There are 50 calls on the Mianwali base that are interlinked with the top five leaders. These calls were made from there to important people in the top leadership of Tehreek-e-Insaf.

IG Punjab further said that we have a record of each call which will 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.

In response to a question, he said that Dr. Yasmin Rashid was among the main characters of the attack on Jinnah House and the police had solid evidence of it. He said that based on the same evidence, the decision regarding Dr. Yasmin Rashid would be challenged in the Supreme Court.

On this occasion, IG Punjab also showed videos to the media based on the presence of Dr. Yasmin Rashid and the statements of incitement on the occasion of the attack on Jinnah House.