4 cops injured while 4 attackers arrested.  Police claims masked men opened fire at 3 prisoners vans carrying under-trial PTI workers, MPAs and KP govt officials for their release.  PTI denies police claim.  All escaped prisoners recaptured.

ISLAMABAD  -  Armed suspects on Friday attacked a convoy of three prison vans, carrying under-trial Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and lawmakers accused of holding a violent protest, near Sangjani Toll Plaza on the outskirts of Islamabad.

According to the statement of police spokesperson, “The attackers opened fire on prison vans but the police team handled the whole situation very bravely.” As many as four police officials were injured in the attack while the same number of attackers were apprehended, the Islamabad Police said in the statement after the incident. As many as 20 suspects riding four vehicles and armed with weapons, batons, sticks and stones attacked the prisoner vans, the police statement said, adding that they fired at the convoy.

The police claimed that two vehicles and weapons belonging to the suspects have been confiscated on the spot. “Teams have been formed to arrest the suspects and police also started search operations in different areas,” the statement said, noting all escaped prisoners were recaptured by police.

Earlier in the day, Judicial Magistrate Mian Azhar Nadeem discharged 82 KP govt employees including 62 policemen, 18 rescue 1122 officials, 2 security officials, MPA Anwar Zeb and Special Assistant to KP chief minister Malik Liaquat in the case registered against them at Sangjani police, Islamabad.  Advocate Imdad Ullah, lawyer of MPA Liaquat Ali, told The Nation that, all 82 accused along with 2 MPAs were granted bail by Anti-Terrorism Court on Thursday in 2 FIRs. Robkar of the accused were not issued on time and the police arrested them in another FIR and produced them on Friday at the District Courts where they were discharged from the case as well.

“It was mutually decided by the prosecution and lawyers that all the accused will be released from Attock Jail where they were incarcerated, and that’s why they were being shifted to Attock jail,” said Advocate Imdad Ullah.

A video footage also surfaced on social media which showed masked men firing, pelting stones and throwing sticks at the prison vans at Sangjani Toll Plaza.

The party of former prime minister Imran Khan, however, denied the occurrence of any such attack and alleged that it was a “staged incident” only to implicate PTI workers and lawmakers in another “fake” case.

The police version is that the vans were transferring 82 prisoners to Attock Jail after their appearance before a district magistrate.

PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram in a video statement claimed the attack was staged by the Islamabad Police to implicate the party workers in another “fake” case. He claimed the vans were on their way to Attack Jail when the police itself changed their route back towards Islamabad.

He alleged that the vans were stopped by station house officer (SHO) Tarnol Police Station and its team, broke their wind screens and evicted the under-trial prisoners forcefully from them. “The police threatened and forced them to run away,” he said, adding that they refused to do so, sensing the police wanted to “play some drama.”

The information secretary warned the federal and Punjab governments, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Islamabad police chief Ali Nasir Rizvi to desist from such tactics, adding that PTI workers would not let them succeed. “PTI prisoners are present on the scene and are emphasizing that they should be sent to jail.”

In a separate video statement, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur also claimed that the incident was staged by police. He said detainees included a provincial minister, a member of KP Assembly and officials of the provincial government. “I have all the videos of the incident,” he said, noting that Islamabad Police would be responsible if some bad incident happened with the party workers.