ISLAMABAD : Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Anti-Narcotics Ataullah Tarar Advocate decried on Saturday the Punjab police’s move to raid the residences of his party’s lawmakers and register cases against them as an act of “revenge” for legal proceedings initiated against PTI’s Dr. Shahbaz Gill over his controversial remarks during an ARY News bulletin. Attaullah Tarar warned the PTI and Punjab government that “all of you” will be arrested if a single PML-N worker is sent behind bars.

The press briefing of Ataullah Tarar came after 12 PML-N leaders approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday seeking protective bail in a case related to ruckus in the Punjab Assembly during the chief minister election. A district court issued their arrest warrants a day prior.

The PML-N leaders include who approached the IHC for securing protective bails include Attaullah Tarar Advocate, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, Muhammad Mirza Javed, Malik Saiful Malook Khokhar, Peer Khizer Hayat Shah Khagga, Raja Sagheer Ahmed, Mian Abdul Rauf, Pir Muhammad Ashraf Rasool, Bilal Farooq Tarar, Rana Mannan Khan and Malik Ghulam Habib Awan.

While talking to media person on Saturday outside IHC, Ataullah Tarar said the raids were carried out on the instructions of the Punjab government — where an alliance of the PTI and PML-Q is at the helm — and warned Chief Minister Parvez Elahi’s government that they “will face the consequences of the trend of revenge they had set”.

“Parvez Elahi sahib, you and your son (Moonis Elahi) will face the consequences of this new trend that you have set,” Tarar reiterated, claiming that Moonis had been issuing instructions for action against PML-N leaders despite not having any official authority.

During his media talk on Saturday, Tarar, whose house was raided in connection with the April 16 episode for the second time on Friday night, maintained that while PML-N lawmakers were being booked for the provincial assembly attack case, “Parvez Elahi and his companions” were the “actual suspects”.

The PML-N leader also alleged that during last night’s raids, police had “stolen” valuables from the MPAs’ residences. He also linked the action against his party’s members to the “promotion of an anti-state narrative”, alluding to Gill’s controversial remarks.

Tarar alleged that CM Elahi had “fully facilitated Imran Khan in promoting this anti-state narrative”, adding that Elahi was “at the forefront of exacting revenge from us”.

He went on to claim that Elahi and Moonis had directed jail officials not to hand over Gill to Islamabad police even when the court had approved his remand in police custody. They had been defying court orders, the PML-N leader added.

Coming back to the action taken against PML-N lawmakers, he said a case should have actually been registered for the beating and torture inflicted on then-PA deputy speaker Dost Mazari during the April 16 session.

“It all started when people pulled the deputy speaker’s hair and subjected him to violence. Are you ready to get arrested?” he questioned, addressing Elahi.

“If any PML-N member is arrested, all of you would also be arrested because you started the violence,” he warned.

He demanded that the CM present proof to corroborate his claim that he was also subjected to violence in the episode, adding that the entire nation had witnessed that the deputy speaker was beaten.

Tarar said the cases registered against PML-N lawmakers in connection with the April 16 session were “fake”.

“What are you avenging?” he questioned, adding that the action taken against the PTI’s members and supporters during the May 25 Azadi March was the government’s “job” and “responsibility”.

“What you were doing was illegal. You tried to create anarchy … It was our responsibility to stop anarchy,” he said.

The PML-N leader vowed to fight the Punjab government’s “fascism and revenge” with determination. “We will take the legal course,” he said, adding that the cases against PML-N MPAs were “fake” and “baseless”.

Tarar also commented that Elahi’s government was being run through a “remote control from Banigala”, a reference to PTI chief Imran Khan’s residence.

PML-N’s Rana Mashhood, who was also present on the occasion, said “a mockery shouldn’t be made out of assemblies” and called for an end to the “politics of laadlas (blue-eyed boys)” — a term PML-N uses for Imran.

He also said the PML-N lawmakers would fight the “daaku raj” (regime of goons) in Punjab and bring it to an end.

Meanwhile Punjab Home Minister Colonel (retd) Hashim Dogar earlier in the day said that a probe has been launched against those involved in “torturing” PTI workers on May 25 and those who were involved in the Punjab Assembly ruckus.

“Police are searching [for the PML-N leaders] to arrest them after a court issued their arrest warrants. The officers who misused authority on May 25 and by-elections have been removed from office.”

Dogar added that CCPO Lahore, DIG operations, and DIG investigations have been removed from their posts, while 30 inspectors will also be dismissed.

Four SPs and seven DSPs have also been suspended with a high-level inquiry is underway.

It is worth mentioning here that a judicial magistrate on Friday issued the arrest warrants for a dozen Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, including prime minister’s special assistant on anti-narcotics Ataullah Tarar Advocate, in relation to a ruckus created at the Punjab Assembly on 16th April 2022.

A case was registered against the PML-N leaders over the ruckus which took place in April during the chief minister’s election — when Mian Hamza Shahbaz Sharif was elected to the top office on 16th April 2022.

During Friday’s hearing, police station Qila Gujjar’s investigation officer appeared before Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Mudassir Hayat, where he sought the issuance of arrest warrants for the PML-N leaders.

The police officer told the judge that despite a case being registered against them, the PML-N leaders have knowingly refused to show up for the investigation. The judge then approved the arrest warrants of the politicians.