RAWALPINDI, Sept 3: The local police on Monday launched a premature swoop on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) loyalists in Rawalpindi district and arrested two activists besides preventing a party meeting in Gujar Khan.

Though top government officials had decided to start a crackdown on PML-N Tuesday midnight, a raid was carried out on the residence of PML-N Punjab vice-president Chaudhry Tanveer Khan in Chaklala, however, he escaped arrest.

The police also raided the PML-N Rawalpindi office situation on Iqbal Road, but found no prominent leader or worker present there except for a teenaged boy.

The police succeeded in arresting UC-35 naib nazim Zeeshan Ahmed and another PML-N worker, whose identity could not be known, from different parts of the city.

To prevent a massive public rally expected on the return of Sharif brothers on September 10, the Punjab government has decided to arrest all the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) prominent leaders, activists and lawyers, and in this regard lists are being prepared, Dawn has learnt.

“All the PML-N leaders, including parliamentarians, and the lawyers supporting them would be arrested, and a massive crackdown will begin Tuesday midnight all over the Punjab province,” a security official said.

The order to launch a swoop on PML-N leaders and workers was given at a top-level meeting chaired by Inspector General of Police (Punjab) Ahmad Nasim in the provincial capital on Monday.

“Heavy deployment of police force will be made in Rawalpindi and around the Islamabad airport on September 10. And police force will also be deployed all along the G.T. Road between Rawalpindi and Lahore,” the official said.

In a related move, the Rawalpindi police have started compiling the record of cases registered against the PML-N leaders including Sharif brothers.

“Yes, compilation of FIRs registered against the PML-N leaders and activists has started. However, we are facing some problem as some of the political leaders and workers, who were nominated in the cases, have now joined either the ruling party or the PPP,” a police official told Dawn.

PML-N leaders and party activists in Rawalpindi city and its suburban areas had started planning the reception for the exiled leaders after the Supreme Court ruled that they could not be stopped from returning to their homeland.

In this regard, a meeting was held at the residence of Chaudhry Tanveer on Sunday.

It has been learnt that the PML-N leaders and workers have gone underground to avoid arrests.

A PML-N leader told Dawn that district and tehsil level leadership had been directed to go underground to foil any crackdown by government agencies.