Lahore: At least five policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, were taken hostage by the workers of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Pakistan’s Lahore city following protests over the arrest of party chief Saad Hussain Rizvi.
Police said the violence occurred after “miscreants” — an apparent reference to TLP workers — attacked a police station and abducted the DSP, adding that it acted only in “self-defence”, Dawn reports.
The armed miscreants attacked Rangers/police with petrol bombs during the protests.
“Today in the early morning, miscreants attacked Nawankot Police Station where Rangers and Police officers were trapped inside the police station and DSP Nawankot kidnapped and taken to the markaz. At least one oil tanker with 50,000 liters of patrol has been taken by the miscreants to the markaz. The miscreants were armed and attacked Rangers/Police with patrol bombs. Police and Rangers pushed them back and took back the possession of the Police Station. Police did not plan or conducted any operation against the mosque or the madrassa. The action, if any, was in self defence and to protect public property,” Pakistan’s Punjab Police said in a statement posted on its official Twitter handle.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/world/4-sikhs-among-8-killed-in-mass-shooting-at-fedex-facility-in-america-s-indianapolis-know-details-1453455">pic.twitter.com/3NVpIiCoFL</a></p>— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) <a >April 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The party workers said that at least three protesters were killed and several others injured during the clash.