According to reports, police have left the home of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Zaman Park after detaining around 60 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members who reportedly resorted to violence to obstruct the law and recovered assault weaponry and a cache of bullets. Imran Khan left for Islamabad to attend the Toshakhana case hearing on Saturday, which is when the police took action.
Addressing a press conference, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar said police had completed the search and cleanup operation in Zaman Park and seized AK-47 assault rifles and a large number of bullets from Imran Khan’s residence in Lahore, as per report.
Glass bottles suspected of being used in Molotov cocktails, as well as hundreds of marbles for shooting at police with slingshots, were also taken from the PTI chairman’s home. Usman Anwar said five more Kalashnikovs were also found on Khan’s property. In response to a question, he said that the legal status of the guns,whether they were licensed or not,is being evaluated.
Usman Anwar said that the roads near Zaman Park, which were blocked with shipping containers prior to the search operations, have “now been cleared.” Punjab’s IGP said that the police carried out the search operation with water cannons, contingents of fully-equipped riot police, lady police, and prisoner vans. He further stated that anti-encroachment personnel also accompanied the police, along with heavy earth-moving machinery.