Lahore police say they arrested PTI activist suspected of preparing violence — Dawn

Police in Lahore, Pakistan, said they had arrested a supporter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, who is suspected of preparing people for violence during protests planned by the party for September 27. PTI rejected the law enforcement allegations, Dawn reports.

Police version

Deputy Inspector General of Police for Operations Faisal Kamran said at a press conference that the detainee's name was Amin. According to him, law enforcement officers recovered an audio recording from the man's phone in which he allegedly discusses with a woman named Fatima Haider recruiting 20 to 30 people for violence in Lahore similar to the events of May 9.

Kamran claims that police received information about the alleged conspiracy on September 26. According to him, Amin is from Sahiwal and worked as a driver for the Haider family. Law enforcement officers also allegedly found other audio recordings on his phone that, in their view, indicate similar plans.

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The police official said Fatima Haider had not yet been detained. He also said that she had appeared in cases related to the May 9 violence and was out on bail. According to Kamran, police formed several teams to search for other people who may be involved in the alleged plan.

PTI reaction

PTI's Punjab information secretary Shaukat Basra called the police statements part of a vague campaign by the Punjab government to create a narrative. He said the party had always maintained the peaceful nature of protests in line with instructions from PTI founder Imran Khan.

Basra called on police to provide clear evidence. He also reiterated PTI's position that the May 9 violence was a false flag operation and questioned police actions in cases concerning those events.