ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Sheikh Waqas Akram on Friday claimed that the recent assault on prisoner transport vans was orchestrated by the Punjab police.
In his statement, Akram alleged that PTI workers who had secured bail were being transferred to District Jail Attock when police redirected the vehicles near Faisal Town.
Akram accused the police of deliberately breaking the van windows to stage the attack, claiming, "Our workers were even encouraged to flee, but they refused, proving they were not attempting to escape." He further stated that these PTI members, who were already granted bail, are now being targeted in a new case allegedly fabricated by the police.
This statement comes after an earlier incident where unidentified gunmen attacked jail vans at the Sangjani Toll Plaza, freeing several PTI prisoners facing terrorism charges.
Police reported that the attackers shattered windows on two vans carrying around 100 prisoners, primarily from Attock Jail, allowing some high-profile PTI detainees to escape.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi revealed that approximately 18 to 20 attackers, including the son of a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPA, had ambushed three vans carrying 82 prisoners.
