A heated exchange took place in the Senate between Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Shibli Faraz over the sealing of the party's central secretariat in Islamabad on Friday.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, Law Minister Tarar firmly stated that legal action against PTI's illegal Secretariat will continue if deemed necessary.
He clarified the Upper House that the PTI Secretariat in Islamabad was demolished according to the law as two floors of it were illegally constructed without proper permission from the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
Tarar added that the action was solely a decision by the CDA which had been issuing notices for four years with the first notice given in 2020 during the PTI's own government.
And, the final notice was issued on May 10, he said adding that now the CDA removed illegal structures such as parking and sheds in public areas.
PTI's Senator Shibli Faraz addressing the House accused the government of resorting to cheap tactics and targeting his party. The PTI senator condemned the demolition of the party's Secretariat and the arrest of PTI leader Amir Mughal.
Senator Shibli claimed that a wave of fascism was sweeping the country but asserted that the government could not erase PTI's founder from the hearts of millions of supporters.
On Friday morning, the CDA removed machinery from the PTI Secretariat site after the encroachment operation and sealed the main building and stationed the security guards outside.
Additionally, the Islamabad police have registered a terrorism case against PTI leader Amir Mughal. It is said in the FIR that PTI leader Amir Mughal and his associates fired shots and attacked CDA staff and police personnel during the operation.
CDA demolished some constructions in the premises of the PTI Secretariat in Islamabad during its midnight operation against encroachments. As per the media report, PTI workers resisted when the office was sealed by the authorities.
On the qurey, the Islamabad deputy commissioner confirmed the sealing of the PTI office established on the plot allotted to Sartaj Ali. He confirmed that the authority served notices on November 19, 2020, February 22, 2021, June 14, 2022, and September 4, 2023 but to no avail.
The operation against encroachments and illegal construction will continue without discrimination, the authority said.
Reporter: Tayyab Saif