Tag: Punjab police

  • ‘This is not Punjab Police’; When Gen Bajwa resigned in anger

    ‘This is not Punjab Police’; When Gen Bajwa resigned in anger

    Since the removal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a Vote of No Confidence in April 2022, political analysts have wondered what led to a falling out between the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the then-Army Chief, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    Kamran Yousaf has unveiled new details of the falling-out between the two. In a report for Express Tribune, Yousaf has revealed that at one point in the growing chasm between the two, General Bajwa resigned from the post of Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

    On the morning of October 7, 2021, General Bajwa informed Azam Khan, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, that he was resigning, giving the Premier one week to appoint a new Chief.

    The information, conveyed on a phone call, left the government in panic. Within the hour, top military officials reached out to General Bajwa, pleading with him to not resign.

    How had matters reached this point? The fallout begun when Imran Khan secured a vote of confidence after his candidate for senate, Hafeez Sheikh, was defeated by the opposition’s candidate, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani. General Bajwa told Imran Khan that after securing members for his vote, the establishment will no longer manage political maneuvering for his government.
    He was also told that General Faiz Hameed, Director-General of Inter-Serviced Intelligence (DG ISI) will be transferred from his post, in line with army procedures. Imran asked for a month, then more time.

    In October, General Bajwa informed the Prime Minister that the transfer cannot be delayed further, to which Imran replied by asking for changes in the procedure. This led to a heated argument between the two former proponents of ‘same page’.

    “This is not the Punjab Police, Mr Prime Minister,” Bajwa told Imran bluntly.

    Imran agreed to the change, leading to ISPR issuing a notification.

    The very next morning, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry issued a statement that the appointment was the Prime Minister’s domain, hinting that the appointment was not done with his approval.

    A furious General Bajwa conveyed to the PM office his decision to resign. Convinced to not do so by military officials, he again met Imran Khan where the two reached a compromise.

    General Faiz would serve for a few more weeks while Imran would then agree to Bajwa’s candidate.

    The relationship between the two was, however, damaged and would never be the same again.

  • Police arrest couple in DIG Jamal’s death inquiry

    Police arrest couple in DIG Jamal’s death inquiry

    Lahore police have arrested a man and his wife for questioning in Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shariq Jamal’s death inquiry.  

    The police officer was found dead in mysterious circumstances at an apartment on Saturday morning. At the time, conflicting media reports said that the policeman was found dead at his residence, while others said his body was found in an apartment in DHA.

    According to media reports, a couple shifted him to a private hospital in DHA.

    However, after further investigation by the police, it came to light that DIG was at the couple’s flat.

    The husband and wife revealed that the DIG was with them, and they brought him to the hospital after his health took a turn for the worse.

    According to the details, DIG was brought to the hospital at 1:30 a.m. and declared dead on arrival.

    The police confirmed that Shariq Jamal was not at his residence but at an apartment in Lahore, and he had shifted to the hospital from there.

    The authorities have decided to investigate the matter, transferring the body of the DIG to Jinnah Hospital for a postmortem.

  • 69 per cent of child abuse victims are boys, report reveals

    69 per cent of child abuse victims are boys, report reveals

    A ‘confidential’ report from the home department has revealed that the number of boys facing atrocities of child abuse is higher than that of girls in Punjab.

    Dawn shared the findings of the said report on Friday, revealing that during the first five and a half months of 2023, a total of 1,390 incidents of child abuse were reported in Punjab, among them 69 per cent were boys while 31 per cent were girls.

    The report identified several key factors hindering the control of sexual crimes against children and it also provided recommendations to combat them.

    The report disclosed that out of all the culprits facing trials in courts in cases of child abuse, 55 per cent were neighbors, 32 per cent were strangers, and 13 per cent were relatives.

    Furthermore, the report revealed that Gujranwala region/division reported the highest number of child abuse incidents (220), followed by DG Khan (199), Faisalabad (186), Multan (140), Bahawalpur (129), Sheikhupura (128), Sahiwal (127), Sargodha (103), and others. The Rawalpindi region and Lahore city had the lowest numbers, with 69 and 89 cases, respectively.

    “It is also concerning that many cases go unreported. Fear and cultural taboos in our society make it difficult to report such crimes,” read the findings of the report. It underscored that lack of support from family members, friends, neighbors, or the community makes it immensely difficult for the victim to speak up against the abuser.

    The home department recommended that the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) play a more active role in child protection. It suggested that the CPWB should have a dedicated team of professionals, including child protection officers, psychologists, law officers, and doctors, to safeguard children from abuse and aid victim rehabilitation.

    The report stressed the need for a well-defined coordination mechanism among different stakeholders, including police, parents, CPWBs, and relevant federal and provincial agencies. It strongly recommended that national and provincial legislatures review existing child protection laws and reform the existing apparatus.

    The home department has sent the report to the Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) and the Regional Police Officers (RPOs) for strict implementation of provided recommendations.

  • Suspects surrender to police after killing two in court premises

    Suspects surrender to police after killing two in court premises

    Two persons were killed within the premises of a local court in Lahore on Thursday, Dawn has reported.

    According to police, the two slain were identified as Sughra Bibi and Muhammad Amin. The victims were present at the court for a hearing when they were shot dead.

    The Punjab Inspector General has instructed the police to catch the suspects as soon as possible and also find out their motive, however, the suspects turned themselves in after the incident and the weapons used in the crime were also found.

    They have been taken to the SP City Office for further investigation. They are being interrogated to determine if anyone else was involved, said police.

  • Daily Crime Report: Is Lahore a safe place? Upsurge in street crime troubles Lahore

    Daily Crime Report: Is Lahore a safe place? Upsurge in street crime troubles Lahore

    It may be due to political anarchy or disability, or you can say negligence of institutes. But Lahore is not safe for roaming around late at nights or even in broad day light.

    Mobile snatchers, purse snatchers, dacoits, thieves, are everywhere and the looters are eerily common now.
    Moreover, the city’s residents feel that the Punjab Police is either devoid of solutions to curb the rising crime rate or simply does not care.

    A citizen Waqas living in Sundar has been robbed inside his office. Thieves looted Rs500,00 and mobile phone. Jahanzeb, resident of Iqbal Town, got robbed in broad day-light when dacoits snatched over Rs 2 lacs and other belongings from him.

    “it is very easy purchase illegal weapon in Punjab. If the citizen retaliates, he will be shot by dacoits so everyone protects his life first.”

    Thousands of rupees from Azam’s fast food shop in Factory area, Rs44 thousand and mobile phone from Hamza in Ichhra, Rs31 thousand and mobile phone from Yusuf in Chung, Rs35 thousand from Khalil in Iqbal Town, Rs55 thousand from Yasin in Mustafa Town, Rs65 thousand from Ghazanfar Ali in Johar Town along with mobile phone, Rs 65 thousand from Atiq Ahmed of Ravi Road.

    A resident of Shalimar was robbed of belongings worth Rs 11 lacs when robbers rushed into his house.


    With all of these street crimes, 7 cars and dozens of bikes reportedly got stolen from Gulberg area, Shahdara Town, Faisal Town, Badami Bagh or Litton Road.


    Police have no clue yet, on the cars and bikes which got stolen from different areas of Lahore.

  • Dar tells PTI that govt has nothing to do with raid at Elahi’s residence

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has talked to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi via telephone, discussing last night’s raid at former Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi’s residence in Lahore.

    Dar distanced the federal government from the incident and blamed the Punjab government for it, while expressing grief over the raid that has been criticised for using excessive force.

    The minister said that he would forward PTI’s reservations to the ruling alliance and would get back to them.

    Meanwhile, Dar’s party fellow and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal criticised the PTI leaders for “using women and children” as a shield to evade arrest.

    Apparently justifying the raid, the minister said both PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Elahi were not arrested when police conducted a raid at their residence.

    The raid has put talks between PTI and the government, to reach a consensus on a date for election, in jeopardy. The final and third round of negotiations will be held on May 2 (Tuesday).

  • After Zaman Park, Punjab police raid Elahi’s house and arrest women

    After Zaman Park, Punjab police raid Elahi’s house and arrest women

    In the late hours of Friday night, a heavy contingent of officials from anti-corruption department and police reached the Gulberg residence of former Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi in Lahore to arrest him in a corruption case.

    According to Elahi’s lawyer, pre-arrest bail had already been taken from a court until May 6 in the particular case. However, the team insisted that they need Elahi in a new case and they would not leave without arresting him.

    Sometime later, the raiding team used an armoured vehicle to break down the main gate of Elahi’s house, arresting multiple staff members. Female police officers also took women into custody.

    The plan was to arrest Elahi too, however, after a thorough search they couldn’t find him.

    They also tried to force their way into the adjoining residence of PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, but they were resisted by Shujaat’s sons.

    After the episode, Elahi’s son moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) to stop the police. Many politicians, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, strongly condemned the raid.

  • Khan buys bulletproof gate for Zaman Park house worth Rs15 lakh

    Khan buys bulletproof gate for Zaman Park house worth Rs15 lakh

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has bought a new bulletproof gate for his Lahore residence in Zaman Park amid fear of a possible operation by the government.

    The gate, which has now been delivered, has reportedly cost between Rs12 lakh and Rs15 lakh.


    On Monday, Khan apprised the Lahore High Court (LHC) that he had “concrete information” of another “attack” at his Zaman Park residence during the Eid holidays.

    In March, Punjab police launched an operation in Zaman Park when Khan was on his way to Islamabad to appear before the court in the Toshkahana case.

    The police crashed into the gate before entering the premises.

  • All weapons recovered from Imran’s Zaman Park residence are illegal, says police

    The Lahore police has said that all the weapons that were recovered by the authorities from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park are “unlicensed and illegal”.

    On March 20, Punjab Police raided Khan’s Zaman Park home, taking apart the entrance gate with a crane and entering the house, stating that they had search warrants.

    At the time, Khan was on his way to Islamabad to appear before a court in the Toshkhana case. He said that his wife Bushra Bibi was alone at home.

    The police said at least 13 SMGs, 7 Kalashnikovs, and 340 bullets were recovered from Zaman Park.

    Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed that police found 16 rifles, arms, bombs and a bomb-making factory in Zaman Park.

  • The State VS. Imran Khan

    The State VS. Imran Khan

    For almost an entire week, we have witnessed violent clashes between the police and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers in Punjab’s capital, Lahore. And on Saturday, the same visuals could be seen in both Lahore and the country’s federal capital, Islamabad. The state vs PTI Chairman Imran Khan paints a sorry picture for both politics and the writ of the state. It is as if no one cares about the consequences these clashes will lead to. The visuals on our television screens and on social media can lead one to think that no one is bothered about civility, be it the police or Khan loyalists. The past few days, we have seen lawlessness, desperation and disarray.


    It could all have been avoided had Imran Khan presented himself before the court in the Toshakhana case on March 13. He had been summoned numerous times, but Khan refused to show up. After his non-bailable arrest warrants were issued by the court, the police acted on it and tried to arrest Khan. However, Khan refused to budge. Eventually, there was only chaos and mayhem. There was drama, disruption and disorder yet neither the state nor Khan and his party took a step back. We saw petrol bombs thrown at the police by PTI workers, tear gas and heavy shelling by the police. Yesterday, Khan’s non-bailable arrest warrants were finally cancelled by the court when he went to Islamabad. Though he could not go inside the court due to the clashes in the judicial complex between the PTI workers and the Islamabad Police, the court still accepted his ‘appearance’ while he was inside his car.


    On the other hand, when Khan was on his way to Islamabad, the police in Lahore went to his Zaman Park residence to conduct a search operation. From bulldozing walls to throwing paintings here and there, the police claims to have allegedly recovered weapons and petrol bombs from Zaman Park. PTI will move the court for contempt proceedings against the police for alleged violence against PTI workers, Khan’s staff and for violating the sanctity of Khan’s home. Both the use of force by the police and the way that Khan resisted his arrest through violence have raised several questions.


    What could have been done to avoid all the unrest that Lahore had to bear? Khan should have followed the rule of law and appeared before the court on March 13. The state’s response when its writ was challenged was shelling, rubber bullets, tear gas and breaking the gate of Khan’s residence at Zaman Park. What we have seen is that when titans collide, everything gets destroyed and no one really wins. Both ends lose and there is nothing to celebrate. We hope that after this episode, there will not be a repeat of what we saw last week. We hope that party workers and state institutions show patience, civil ways to support their leaders and not create law and order situation. We hope to see less political chaos and more stability in the coming days.