Militants also present at Zaman Park: Punjab minister

LAHORE: Caretaker Punjab Information Minister Amir Mir Thursday said the government has ensured that there was no loss of life at Zaman Park and whenever the police went there, they had nothing but batons, helmets and shields.

Addressing a press conference at the office of IGP Punjab, he said the Punjab Police had assisted the Islamabad Police in complying with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) orders. He said dozens of policemen had been seriously injured in the incidents in the last three days. “Cases have been registered against all those involved in the violence,” he added.

Amir said Zaman Park had been made a no-go area and court orders were not allowed to be implemented for three consecutive days. The provincial minister said there were reports that some militants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were also present there of which one belonged to Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi. He said the person was the right hand of Maulana Sufi Muhammad and had served eight years in prison.

The Punjab IGP said that the driver and another person had confessed to their crime in the Zille Shah case before the magistrate. The statement will be shared with the media as well and everything would become clear soon, he added.

To a question about why police did not have information about the violent activities of the protesters, he said that police were fully informed but wanted to ensure no loss of life. “It must be kept in mind that we were not in enemy territory.”

Usman Anwar said the DIG Islamabad had sought assistance, which was provided by the Punjab Police on a non-bailable warrant issued by the court. “Since we were not expecting any law and order, we gave him a handful of personnel so he could execute the court order. The police team reached and talks were underway but during that time, stones were thrown and the DIG was injured. Other policemen were injured too,” he added. He dismissed reports of a confrontation between GB and Punjab Police, saying that no clash took place between the two forces and both were serving the state as per their domain.