ISLAMABAD: Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said her car was pelted with stones by police on Tuesday outside the office of the anti-graft watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Clashes broke out between the police and supporters of Nawaz’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party when she arrived at the NAB office for proceedings in a case related to the “illegal” acquisition of land in Lahore city’s Raiwind area.
Television footage showed men in plain clothes throwing stones at law enforcers, who were seen beating PMLN workers with batons, and launching water cannons and tear gas. A video posted on twitter by a government spokesperson and carried by news channels showed cars, purportedly a part of Nawaz’s caravan, laden with bags full of stones.
In a video posted on Twitter, Nawaz said police threw stones at her car, cracking the windshield.
“I strongly condemn police shelling, use of tear gas and lathi charge [beating] on peaceful party workers who came to show solidarity with me,” she tweeted.
NAB postponed the day’s proceedings due to the clashes and accused Nawaz’s party of deliberately sabotaging the hearing. The watchdog said Maryam had been summoned in a “personal capacity” to record her statement but “she displayed hooliganism in an organized manner through PML-N workers by pelting stones and creating disorder.”
The government of Punjab province said PMLN workers started the clash and vowed to take action against those involved. Speaking to a local TV channel, Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat said PML-N party workers threw stones at police first to put pressure on the anti-graft watchdog.
Nawaz said the purpose of summoning her to the NAB office was to “hurt me.”
“For the first time I saw stoning by police,” she said in an address to the crowd. “If you do not have the courage, you should have thought it through before calling me here. After calling me, you turn to shelling and pelting stones on innocent PML-N workers. If I did not have a bulletproof car, think of how much damage would have been caused.”
The PMLN has said at least 50 party workers have been arrested after the clashes.
Pakistani opposition party supporters arrested after clashes with police at accountability office
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Pakistani opposition party supporters arrested after clashes with police at accountability office
- Nawaz says police pelted her car with stones, party supporters injured
- Punjab government says PMLN supporters started the clashes, resolves to take action
