Imran Khan, PTI leaders booked for clashes

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, his party leaders and workers have been booked for damaging government property in riots at the Zaman Park.

The PTI chief had been booked Tuesday — the day when the standoff between the police and party workers began — in one of the four cases. The cases have been registered under the provisions of burning and damaging government property, terrorism, attempts to murder and other provisions.

According to the first information report (FIR) filed against Imran Khan at Lahore’s Race Course police station, a criminal conspiracy of riots was carried out at the behest of PTI chief’s incitement. The FIR stated that PTI workers, at the behest of Imran Khan and party leaders, had attacked the police with batons, bricks, stones and petrol bombs, which left Shehzad Bukhari, the deputy inspector-general of operations of the Islamabad police, injured.

It further added that additional Lahore Police personnel were called in to control the disorder upon which the PTI workers turned more violent and chanted slogans against the expected arrest of their leader.

They began throwing stones and bottles filled with petrol, leaving public and private property, including police vans, water cannons and bowser vehicles destroyed and burnt, as well as the staff being injured as a result, the FIR stated.

Imran Khan has been booked under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) Section 109 (punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed n consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment); 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy); 147 (punishment of rioting); 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon); 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object); 172 (absconding to avoid service of summons or other proceeding); and 173 (preventing service of summons or other proceeding, or preventing publication thereof) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The former premier has also been booked under Section 174 (non-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant); 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions); 212 (harbouring offender); 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise provided for); 291 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue); and 324 (attempt to commit qatl-i-amd). Provisions for the case against the PTI chairman also include Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty); 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees); 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc); 440 (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt); 506 (ii) (punishment for criminal intimidation or grievous hurt, etc); and the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.