Lahore police have registered a terrorism case against former Punjab lawmaker Nazir Ahmad Chohan — who was a PTI dissident but later stood in the Punjab by-elections on a PML-N ticket — it emerged on Tuesday, less than a week after the province came under the PML-Q, an ally of the PTI.

Chohan is among the 25 PTI dissident lawmakers (including five on reserved seats) who voted for Hamza in the Punjab chief minister’s election in April, who were subsequently de-seated by the ECP.

PTI swept the by-elections on the 20 general seats that were vacated, snaring 15, after which it was able to install Parvez Elahi of the PML-Q as Punjab chief minister in the second election for the top job in the province.

In the run-up to the by-elections, there were reports of clashes between PML-N and PTI workers, which allegedly involved Chohan. On Monday, he was arrested in relation with an armed clash between the PTI and PML-N workers during the by-election for PP-167.

PML-N Punjab MPA Hina Parvez Butt tweeted footage of Chohan’s arrest and condemned it. In it, police personnel can be seen escorting him and putting him in the back of a police van as he asked them what he had done and why were they subjecting him to this treatment.

The first information report (FIR) which emerged after his arrest, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, is registered under Sections 324 (murder attempt), 353 (assault or act to deter a public servant from discharge his duty), 186 (interfering in the state function), 506-B (punishment for criminal intimidation), 148 (armed rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 was also included in the FIR, which was registered at the Chung police station on August 1 (Monday).

The FIR said that police received information about Chohan’s whereabouts as he had already been nominated in a separate case. When he was pulled over, he disembarked from his vehicle and straightened his right hand in which he was allegedly carrying a pistol, it said.

Further, armed individuals accompanying Chohan also disembarked from another vehicle and allegedly opened fire on police, the FIR stated, adding that officials “saved their lives by laying flat on the ground”.

Later today, police presented Chohan before an anti-terrorism court to obtain his physical remand. During the hearing, the prosecutor contended that the former MPA was in possession of a large amount of ammunition that needed to be recovered.

However, Chohan’s lawyer noted that a case had already been registered against his client at the Johar Town police station in which he had been given a clean chit. “There was no basis for arresting my client,” he said, adding that Chohan had been arrested on “political grounds”.

The judge directed police to work in accordance with the law, and denied the request for Chohan’s physical remand. The court sent Chohan and his accomplices on judicial remand.

Later, PML-N’s Attaullah Tarar shared footage of Chohan at the anti-terrorism court, saying the two celebrated the verdict in the prohibited funding case against the PTI.

PP-167 clash

A day earlier, Lahore police had arrested Chohan in relation with an armed clash between the PTI and PML-N workers during the by-election for PP-167. A team of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) arrested Chohan from Chung area and shifted him to an undisclosed location.

SSP Investigation Imran Kishwar confirmed the arrest of Mr Chohan in connection with an FIR, lodged on June 19 with the Johar Town Police Station during the by-election campaign.

The incident had come to the limelight when leaders of both parties, Shabbir Gujjar and Nazir Chohan, raised allegations against each other for carrying out armed attacks on each other’s workers. Both of them were contesting the by-election from the same constituency and Chohan later lost the seat to Gujjar.

A police official said Chohan was arrested on the directions of the Lahore police higher-ups in connection with the case. He said in the clash, a young nephew of Gujjar, had also been injured and police acted when he claimed to have obtained a medical report of his nephew from the hospital.

Gujjar asked police to take action against Chohan in the light of the medical examination report of his nephew, he said.