960407

Police resort to

shelling PML

leader's Qul

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: At the Qul ceremony of PML(N) city president Javaid Ashraf which was held at Muslim Masjid in the old district, police tear-gassed, and batoned the peaceful workers, a PML(N) spokesman said. "When police resorted to tear-gas, and lathi charge there were about 3000 reciting the Holy Quran," PML(N) official spokesman told reporters. At that time PML(N) chief Nawaz Sharif along with other senior leaders, and legislators were also inside the mosque.

While the local police denied the charges of PML(N) of unprovoked batoning and tear-gasing as a police spokesman said that some miscreants hurled stones from the balconies of the Muslim Masjid due to which he said "We had to stop them and finally some shells were fired to dispersed them."

The Qul ceremony was not disturbed, nor was Nawaz Sharif hurt.

After the incident PML(N) workers spread in the city in groups raising slogans against PPP government. But till the filing of this report no major disturbance was reported except from Lohari Gate area where office of PML(J) was ransacked, by an angry mob.

No body was arrested on Sunday. Though city remained peaceful, police vehicles continued patrolling the city.

Meanwhile, PML(N) Punjab Chief Senator Chaudhery Shujat Hussain has condemned police action of Sunday when it mercilessly shelled the innocent people reciting Holy Quran at a Qul ceremony.