Former Punjab Minister 'key planner' of attack on Lahore's Jinnah House: Police

Former health minister of Pakistans Punjab province Dr Yasmin Rashid was the key planner of the May 9 attack on the historic Jinnah House or the Corps Commander House here Punjab police chief Dr Usman Anwar has said after an antiterrorism court discharged her in the caseThe Punjab Police will also challenge the antiterrorism courts ATC decision ordering the release of Pakistan TehreekeInsaf PTI central Punjab president in the corps commander house attack case in the high court Dawn News quoted the Inspector General as saying on SundayAddressing a press conference at the Central Police Office CPO along with Lahore police chief Bilal Siddique Kamyana Anwar said We are confident enough to prove in a court of law that these PTI leaders were not innocent and that the attacks were not carried out all of a sudden in reaction to the arrest of the PTI chairman Imran KhanWe detected 41 calls of the PTI leader Yasmin Rashid among other party leaders which were enough to produce as evidence in a court of law to prove them as planners and perpetrators of the attacks on the military installation the IG saidAnwar also played the video clips of Rashid on a TV screen where the IG claimed she was iquestplanning the attack on Jinnah HouseiquestDiscussing the role of other key PTI leaders including Hammad Azhar Mian Aslam Iqbal and Murad Raas in the violence Anwar said the police also traced the call records of these suspects to prove their direct involvement in the attacks on military installationsKhans party found itself in hot waters when protesters allegedly belonging to the party attacked civil and military properties on May 9 following the arrest of Khan in the AlQadir corruption case Khan who has a massive following across Pakistan was later released on bailThe PTI supporters attacked military installations in different parts of the country including the attack on the General Headquarters GHQ in Rawalpindi Lahores Jinnah House where the Corps Commander was residing Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in FaisalabadAlso readImran Khan likely to be tried in military court Pakistans defence ministerAnwar said they would challenge the ATC decision to release Rashid and Hammad Azhar adding that the police would present evidence that they had been making calls to protesters for attacks on the military installationsA report of a forensic analysis issued by the Punjab police confirmed the presence of Rashid outside the corps commanders houseThe report said video and audio clips were sent to the Punjab Forensic Laboratory for analysis which established the PTI leaders presence outside the Jinnah House at the time of the attack Her presence was also proved through a photogrammetry test the report addedThe IG claimed that a total of 215 calls were made to incite the mob that attacked the military installation in Lahore Out of them 41 calls were made by Yasmin Rashid 75 by Mahmoodur Rasheed 50 by Ijaz Chaudhry 16 by Mian Aslam Iqbal 23 by Murad Raas and 10 calls by PTI leader Hammad AzharHe said 50 calls from Mianwali were linked to the five top leaders of the PTI regarding the attack on the Mianwali air baseSimilarly 88 calls were detected from around the GHQ in Rawalpindi on May 8 and May 9 the IG Punjab saidHe said the police have identified 708 suspects allegedly involved in the attack on the corps commanders house 125 have been arrested so farDuring the press conference the police chief criticised the social media influencers of PTI and claimed that they were sharing misleading information about the torture of party workers particularly female activists which warranted action by the Federal Investigation Agency FIAHe alleged the PTI leaders were misleading the public by sharing old video clips and photos to defame law enforcement agencies making serious allegations that police were torturing the arrested workersLaw enforcement agencies have arrested over 10000 workers of Khans party across Pakistan 4000 of them from PunjabPolice put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khans party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnelThe Punjab Police had previously claimed citing a geofencing report that Khan and his close aides allegedly coordinated efforts to storm the residence of the Lahore Corps Commander and other buildingsThe IG said that attackers on May 9 injured several police officers and other personnel of the police leaving many of them with leg and arm fracturesDespite all this the police would continue to do their work only according to the law the Punjab police chief saidBesides Rashid and other leaders over 400 unidentified people have been named in the caseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever