LAHORE: The Factory Area police claim to have arrested an armed man during a raid on a corner meeting arranged by the PTI candidate for PP-168 constituency, who turned out to be a personnel of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) of the Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP).

He was later identified as Ahmad Nawaz, a resident of Mansehra. The matter has been referred to the Punjab police and the government high-ups.

In a video statement recorded in police custody, the FC personnel claimed that he was sent to Lahore by the KP government and the FC Commandant to discharge duty as a ‘guard’ of the PTI candidate Nawaz Awan.

He said he was a serving personnel of the KP FC and the PTI candidate for the PP-168 constituency of Lahore was a relative of his ‘boss’.

Lahore Operations DIG retired Capt Sohail Chaudhry told Dawn the police team, including a DSP and the SHO of the Factory Area police, raided the ‘corner meeting’ of the PTI candidate near the Punjab Housing Society, acting on an emergency call about the “presence of some armed men” there.

He said the PTI candidate and other leaders, who were present in the meeting, offered resistance during the raid and misbehaved with the DSP and the SHO when they asked them to hand over the “armed men” to the police.

Despite fierce resistance, the police managed to take one of the armed men in custody, who later introduced himself as a constable of the FC belonging to KP.

However, the DIG said, the man later changed his statement saying he was a “retired” official of the FC.

He said the PTI candidate facilitated the other armed men in fleeing the corner meeting.

The police have lodged a case, the DIG added.

Later, in a statement, provincial home minister and spokesperson for Punjab government Attaullah Tarar alleged that the KP government was sending armed men to Punjab to sabotage by-elections.

He said the Punjab government would foil the “nefarious designs” of the PTI’s KP government and a case would be lodged against the FC man arrested in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2022