In a major development, the Inspector General of Punjab Dr Usman Anwar has rejected the rumors that the Punjab police and the police of Gilgit-Baltistan came face-to-face during the Zaman Park operation.
While speaking to a private media channel, IGP Anwar said it should not be considered that the personnel of one province fought with the force of another province.
“We are all servants of the state,” he said. He further clarified that the GB police did not train guns at Punjab Police, forcing them to retreat.
“There’s no civil war. All the police forces will ensure that the law of the land is implemented,” IGP Usman Anwar further added.
Punjab police clashed with PTI supporters at Zaman Park in Lahore. Amid the clash, rumors surfaced that the GB police opened fire on the Punjab Police when they confronted them after they arrived at Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park to arrest him.
Read more: Zaman Park drama comes to a halt
It was also rumored that GB IG was reluctant in asking the GB Police and commandos to retreat from Zaman Park.
Following the reports, the federal government on Wednesday dismissed Gilgit Baltistan Inspector General Police Muhammad Saeed from his charge for allegedly deploying commandos and police at Zaman Park.
Saeed was ordered to report to the Establishment Division with immediate effect until further orders, according to a notification from the division. A separate notification said that Dar Ali Khan Khattak was now transferred and posted as the GB IGP with immediate effect.
Then why IG GB police was removed? Second, those police gunmen are now back in Islamabad and if they indeed pointed guns at Punjab Police why have they not been arrested yet? https://t.co/8I5BBG0IWM
— Kamran Yousaf (@Kamran_Yousaf) March 16, 2023
Pertinent to mention that prior to the transfer of GB’s top cop, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb during a news conference in Islamabad also claimed that a “Gilgit-Baltistan force” was being used to attack Punjab police “who are trying to implement court orders to detain Imran Khan”, asserting that the law enforcement officials were unarmed.
Read more: Watch: Heavy police force arrive at Zaman Park to arrest Imran Khan