Armed assailants targeted three prison vans transporting 82 detainees, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers and police officers, to Attock jail after a court hearing, Geo News reported on Friday.
The attackers ambushed the convoy at the Sangjani Toll Plaza, where they had positioned themselves beforehand. This attack enabled several inmates, including PTI Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) Anwar Zaib, Liaquat, and Yasir Qureshi, to temporarily escape. However, Islamabad police quickly recaptured them.
During the attack, the assailants fired at the police, injuring four officers and damaging a police van. Emergency services transported the injured to a hospital promptly.
Post-incident, Islamabad Police Inspector General Ali Nasir Rizvi confirmed that police had recaptured all escaped detainees and had launched a manhunt for the attackers.
PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram accused the Islamabad police of orchestrating the attack to fabricate additional charges against PTI activists. He claimed that earlier in the day, a court had acquitted over 80 PTI affiliates in a case at the Sangjani Police Station.
He further alleged that police officials had broken the vans’ windows, simulating an escape opportunity, which the detainees refused.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur called the incident a staged drama by the “fake government and Islamabad police” intended to depict an escape attempt. He warned Islamabad authorities to ensure the detainees’ safe transport and held senior officials accountable for their security.
This incident follows the detention of several PTI leaders, including Imran Khan’s sisters, during an Islamabad protest on October 4. An anti-terrorism court has since granted bail to Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan as part of the PTI’s campaign for judicial independence and the former prime minister’s release.
