Daily Times

Armed suspects on Friday attacked a convoy of three police vans near Sangjiani Toll Plaza outside Islamabad, police said.

According to a statement from the Islamabad Police spokesperson, the vans were transferring 82 prisoners to Attock Jail after an appearance before the district magistrate earlier in the day. The 82 prisoners included two PTI lawmakers and four party workers. “About 20 suspects riding in four vehicles attacked the prisoner vans near Sangjani Toll Plaza,” the statement read, adding that the suspected assailants were armed with weapons, sticks and stones. “Four police officers were injured in the attack, while four attackers were arrested,” the statement added. “Two vehicles and weapons belonging to the suspects were seized.”

Teams were formed to arrest the suspects and police also started search operations in different areas, while all escaped prisoners were recaptured by police, according to the statement.

“The police teams handled the whole situation very bravely,” it added.

Earlier, District Magistrate Muhammad Azhar Nadeem presided over a hearing for the identification parade of the 82 suspects, dismissing the case as they had been presented in courts and, therefore, their identity was known to the police and the complainant. According to the court’s order, these suspects were arrested during the PTI’s rally in Islamabad on October 4. The counsel for the accused, Ansar Mehmood Kayani, said that 34 of them were police personnel while 42 included Rescue 1122 personnel. PTI MPAs Anwar Zeb and Malik Liaquat Khan are among the six arrested PTI members.

PTI MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram issued a video statement condemning the attack on the convoy and alleging that policemen from Tarnol police station were behind the attack.

“I am speaking with regards to 82 of our people who were presented in court in an FIR registered in Sangjiani and the judge discharged them,” he said in a video statement, posted by the party on X.

“When all of them in the FIR were discharged, they were named in another secretariat FIR and arrested again. Following that, they were being moved to Attock Jail in three prison vans.” Akram added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPAs were among the 82 “party people”.

“When these people were being transferred to Attock Jail … suddenly, near Faisal Town, the vans were turned around and stopped within the jurisdiction of Tarnol police station,” Akram said.

“Tarnol SHO Shabbir Tanoli and his team broke the prison van windows, opened the doors and forcefully pulled out the prisoners and made them stand,” the MNA alleged. “Then, they urged them to run from there.”

“We strongly condemn this, and our KP government and our people will take strict action against this,” Akram warned. “We will not forgive any actions of this sort.”

However, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar delivered a televised address alleging that the attack was carried out by the PTI to free the prisoners and warned that the suspected attackers would be arrested. “This was a planned-out attack,” Tarar said. “As a result of the attack, KP MPA Liaquat Sahibzada and four suspects have been arrested and two cars and two weapons have been recovered from the attack. “They fired on the police and tried to free the prisoners,” he maintained.

The information minister added that the PTI had a history of carrying out coordinated attacks, citing the May 9 riots as an example and reiterating that the PTI “follow the politics of violence.”

“When the prison van slowed down near Sanjgani Toll Plaza, the people in the four cars attacked them and tried to free the 82 prisoners,” Tarar continued. “As a result, 19 of the 82 prisoners were rearrested and all 82 prisoners are back in police custody. Two police officials were injured in this, and police very bravely thwarted this plot.”

“[The] writ of the state will be established in any case,” the minister reiterated.