LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday expressed deep grief over acts of firing on officers and officials of Punjab Police and check-posts. In a statement issued here on Monday, the CM said “It is regrettable that more than 20 police personnel including SP, DSP and SHO have been injured in attacks.” The CM said the protesters were also seen with machine guns, tear gas, knives and masks etc. She added the protesters used weapons in their attacks on Punjab police that only police have in their possession. She highlighted that shots were fired at Ghazi Barotha, Mianwali, Hazara Motorway and other places.
The CM said Punjab police has been kept unarmed to avoid clashes. “It is still unarmed.” She said that in their previous protest, a constable was martyred and more than 25 were injured. “An attack by police force of one province on that of the other province using government resources is tantamount to tarnishing national unity. What kind of protest is this where government resources are used. Instead of a protest, this movement is an attempt of armed terrorism,” she added.
Provincial Information Minister Azma Bokhari condemned actions of “Tehreek-e-Fasad”, accusing the group of martyring a police officer and severely injuring 70 other officers.
At a press conference at the DGPR, she said, “Bushra Bibi, this is not a jungle where you can act like a “Sultana Daku” to free your husband.” Azma Bokhari said that Bushra Bibi was inciting Pashtuns to attack the state, leading armed mobs, and adding a religious veneer to their aggression with chants of “Allah-ho- Akbar”. She criticized her for posing as a guardian of Islamic values while lacking even basic knowledge, such as properly reciting “Durood Sharif”.
Azma Bokhari asserted that the PTI and its armed factions were seeking casualties to advance their disruptive political agenda. “Life continues as normal across Punjab. Not even a bird has stirred here,” she said and emphasized that commercial and social activities remain uninterrupted in the province. Azma Bokhari condemned continued violence by “Tehreek-e-Fasad” on the second day of unrest, which included torching police vehicles and attacking officers. “These attacks led to martyrdom of officer Mubashir and severe injuries to 70 others, including constable Wajid, who was shot in the neck and legs. A Frontier Corps officer was also shot in the leg,” she added and highlighted a tweet by a PTI-affiliated poet that mentioned the martyrdom of police officers and capture of seven others.
She alleged that Gandapur had requested 1,500 plain-clothes police officers, a tactic she described as provocative. Azma Bokhari remarked, “I do not believe the youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would resort to violence or harm anyone; this behavior is the sole characteristic of the Taliban and PTI.”
She argued that PTI seeks to provoke the state into using force against them, while knowing the state would never do so.
If even one of their members gets a scratch, they will create an uproar domestically and internationally, she stated.
Expressing concern for the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azma Bokhari lamented their suffering under such a leadership. She noted stark contrast between the crowds Gandapur attracts and lack of support for Bushra Bibi. She also criticized silence of leaders like Aleema Khan, who have disappeared from public view.
She questioned why the children of these leaders such as Ibrahim, Qasim, Suleman, and Tyrian do not join the protests. When they face harm themselves, only then they and others will begin to remember basic rights, she remarked.