Submission of papers for by-polls: Clashes between PTI, PMLN workers at Multan ECP office

MULTAN: Police rounded up Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate from NA-155 Amir Dogar and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) candidate Tariq Rasheed Wednesday after clashes took place at the Multan Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office when both the parties reached there to submit nomination papers of their candidates for by-polls, police said.

The Cantonment police arrested PTI leader Amir Dogar besides dozens of workers of both parties. Later, police also arrested PMLN candidate Tariq Rasheed in a violence case when he was in hospital to get a medico-legal certificate.

Police also arrested Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hassan when he reached Nishtar Hospital to inquire about the injured workers. However, moments later, police released him when they came to know that he was a senator. No immediate information was available to confirm the whereabouts of arrested political workers.

Senior politician Javed Hashmi also reached the Election Commission’s office when the PMLN and PTI workers were battling. Several PMLN workers once made a successful bid to enter the Election Commission office.

Talking to journalists, Javed Hashmi condemned the hooliganism at the Election Commission’s office and said the PMLN workers were abused. “We are all united, we are all one. Imran Khan has considered the election as a child’s play and waiting for the establishment to bring him forward again. But the establishment knows him.”

Earlier, the PMLN and PTI workers exchanged hot words at the Election Commission office and threw bricks, and flower pots on each other, witnesses said. Large contingents of police reached the ECP offices and got it vacated from PTI and PMLN workers. The workers of PMLN broke chairs and tables in the office while attacking PTI workers, witnesses said.

Meanwhile, PTI Senior Vice President Chaudhry Fawad Hussain termed Amir Dogar’s arrest a policy of the “fascist government”. He said the FIR was registered against PTI’s active worker like Dogar on the directives of Pakistan Democratic Movement.

Condemning the arrest, Fawad said the Punjab interim chief minister wanted to show loyalty to Shehbaz Sharif.