RAWALPINDI: PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan and Naeem Haider Panjotha Advocate have had a bitter tiff with the police on Tuesday when they were stopped at the Dahgal checkpoint a few hundred meters from the Adiala Jail.
The PTI leaders were scheduled to meet with the PTI founder Imran Khan.
When the police stopped their vehicle, Ali Muhammad expressed his displeasure and questioned the legal basis for the police action.
“You have taken oath under the Constitution of Pakistan just as I have,” he said, addressing the officers.
“I have taken it as a Member of the National Assembly, and you as a police officer. You have no justification for stopping us. I am an MNA — how can you stop me?”
Khan further accused the police of acting under duress, stating, “Your silence shows that you are under pressure.”
The situation escalated when Khan confronted a plainclothes officer, asking him to show his identity and why he was not in uniform.
The officer identified himself as a District Field Commander (DFC). In response, Khan asked him to show any official orders from the Punjab government prohibiting their passage.
“Show us any order from the Punjab government against us. We are free citizens of Pakistan,” he asserted.
“What are you afraid of from us? Don’t you obey court orders? Time changes — you will be held accountable. Whether or not the meeting is allowed is the discretion of the jail administration. How can the Punjab Police stop anyone on the road? The names of six of our lawyers have been submitted for the meeting, including mine. Going to Adiala Jail is our right, but Punjab Police is stopping us,” he concluded.