PTI founding chairman Imran Khan’s lawyer Intezar Hussain Panjutha – who had been missing from October 8 – was recovered by the Punjab police last night, it emerged in the early hours of Sunday.
The party labelled the development as scripted and demanded that a first information report (FIR) be filed against the Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, who claimed in the high court that Panjutha would be produced in court within 24 hours, suggesting he was aware of his whereabouts.
The PTI leader was recovered by police in Attock as his kidnappers were allegedly transporting him. Police later shifted him to the hospital.
Video of him sitting in a car while being tied up was widely shared on social media by PTI, showing the lawyer visibly shaken.
According to a statement issued by the District Police Office Attock spokesperson, the police had rescued Panjutha who was abducted for ransom by kidnappers.
The police department said that “negative propaganda” was being concocted by “vloggers” who claimed that Imran’s lawyer did not take his full name when asked by an officer to identify himself.
The vloggers – terming it as “drama” – claimed that it was the official in the video took Panjutha’s full name.
“After slowing down the video, it can be heard clearly that the abductee stated his full name,” the spokesperson said according to a statement on the police department’s Facebook page.
“Some people are just trying to defame the police by spreading negative propaganda,” the spokesperson said, adding that legal action was being initiated against YouTubers running negative campaigns against the police.
Here’s how the lawyers, politicians and journalists reacted to the recovery of the PTI founder’s lawyer:
PTI Chairman Gohar Khan – while reacting to the recovery – questioned whether anyone would “ever take any such case to its logical conclusion”.
“You abduct, torture and then leave by [the] roadside and yet people say, ‘thank God, he is back’ – no question asked,” Gohar said in a post on X.
“Will any court ever hold anyone responsible or punish them for it?” Gohar said, adding that the recovery of Imran’s lawyer without any consequence for the abductors signified the downfall of human dignity and the rise of the “rule of might is right”.
“God bless our nation,” Gohar said.