LAHORE: A Lahore anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for top leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Punjab over multiple charges including alleged violations of Section 144 and attacks on law enforcement agencies on May 25 — the day PTI workers marched to Islamabad.

According to a ruling dated June 9 the investigating officer in charge of the Shahdara police station, Muhammad Saleem, requested the court to issue non-bailable arrest warrants for Mian Akram Usman, Muhammad Zubair Khan Niazi, Imtiaz Mehmood Sheikh, Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed, Mian Shafqat Mehmood, Malik Nadeem Abbas, Murad Raas, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Yasir Gilani, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Hammad Azhar, Andleeb Abbas, and Ijaz Chaudhry.

It stated that the accused persons were "intentionally concealing themselves in order to avoid their arrest and their arrest is necessary for completion of the investigation".

The court accepted the officer's request and issued the warrants.

Last month, the Punjab police had registered a total of 42 criminal cases against PTI’s senior leaders and workers for alleged agitation in the aftermath of the long march.

It said three police officials had been martyred in the line of duty while 100 others were injured, three of them seriously, in allegedly attacks by PTI workers. Of them, 34 personnel were injured in Lahore, 48 in Attock and nine in Sargodha, Mianwali, Rawal­pindi, Jhelum and other cities.

Earlier, a police official told reporters that 12 cases were registered in Lahore, five in Sialkot, four each in Rawalpindi and Sargodha, three in Mianwali, and two each in Attock and Jhelum, while one FIR was lodged in Chakwal.

On the day of the Azadi March, May 25, clashes between PTI activists and police at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk were reported as the law enforcers resorted to tear gas shelling in an attempt to clear roads for traffic, which was blocked by the demonstrators on a fresh directive from the party chief to lodge protests in their respective areas, after the protesters threw stones on the police personnel while refusing to clear the roads.

When PTI’s Lahore chapter gathered its workers at Bhatti Chowk to remove barriers placed in the area to block their route to Islamabad, the police resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse them and arrested over 10 PTI workers. Around 212 other party activists were picked up from other city areas.