RAWALPINDI: The police are investigating the 53 arrested Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers to ascertain who had motivated them to reach Benazir Bhutto International Airport and attack the police when their party chief Dr Tahirul Qadri was scheduled to arrive here on June 23.

The 53 arrested activists were remanded to the Airport police by an anti-terrorism court (ATC -II) for 10 days on Tuesday.

As many as 1,300 people were booked by the police on Monday (June 23) on various charges, including violence, robbery and terrorism.

However, the 53 were arrested on charges of attacking police and creating law and order situation.

Most of the arrested people carried stones in laptop bags

Inspector Raja Musaddiq of the Airport police, who is leading the investigation into the case, told Dawn that they had been trying to trace the mastermind who brought the protesters from other parts of the province to Rawalpindi.

“We have been trying to find out who was behind Monday’s violence and how they got training on battling with the police,” Inspector Musaddiq said, adding more arrests would be made.

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He said the police had not found any evidence which could show that the PAT chairman had motivated his workers to resort to violence. Therefore, he (Dr Qadri) needed not to be investigated, he added.

“From our investigations so far, it has emerged that some of the protesters were carrying laptop bags given to students by the Punjab government. They had brought stones in the bags,” he added.

The police said though no weapon was recovered from the arrested people, they carried batons and large needles were also found from their custody.

“They had used large size needles to flatten tyres of the armoured personnel carrier (APC),” the investigating officer said, adding all underage workers of the PAT had already been released.

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Due to insufficient space in Airport police station, some protesters in the police remand were shifted to the Cantonment police station.

The police said it was not easy for them to provide three-time meals to 53 suspects for 10 days.

The police were still searching for a 12-bore repeater gun of head constable Mohammad Nawaz, 12-bore gun of constable Qasim and a wireless set and two mobile phone sets of Qaiser Shahzad of the Special Branch. Sub-Inspector Mohammad Ehsan, associated with the Special Branch, also lost his wireless set when the PAT workers attacked the police at the gate of the airport.

The disappearance of the two wireless sets has worried the police as it can be used for eavesdropping on the police activities by any miscreants.

“It is not an ordinary theft. Two official wireless sets were snatched by the PAT workers and we are trying to recover the sets as soon as possible,” a senior police officer said.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2014