LAHORE: Police have arrested Punjab Assembly DG Parliamentary Affairs Rai Mumtaz and also conducted raids at the residences of two other officials of the provincial assembly.
According to the Punjab Assembly spokesperson, police entered the house of Rai Mumtaz by climbing over the walls and arrested him. Rai Mumtaz’s family says police raided the house at night and transferred him to an undisclosed location.
The spokesperson said raids were also carried out on the houses of Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti and Secretary Coordination Inayatullah but they were not present and could not be arrested.
Speaker Punjab Assembly Pervez Elahi condemned the arrest of Rai Mumtaz and raids, calling it a ‘fascist act’ of the government. “The arrest of an assembly official and raids is a proof that the government is panicked. The face of the Sharifs is being exposed before the nation,” Elahi said.
He said the action was being taken on the orders of Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz and the arrests and raids of the assembly officers were proof of the government was unconstitutional.
PTI leader Musarat Jamshed Cheema condemned Rai Mumtaz’s arrest and said that the government had conceded defeat by detaining Rai Mumtaz.
It may be recalled that Speaker Pervez Elahi has convened a session of the Punjab Assembly today (Sunday). The meeting was convened on May 30 but after 25 MPAs were de-seated, the speaker changed the date. ۔
Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz has also convened a meeting of the PML-N parliamentary party and allies today. The meeting will decide the strategy for the Punjab Assembly session.
