Flight operations and VVIP moments were also affected at Noor Khan Airbase due to bloody Basant in Rawalpindi and intense aerial firing throughout the day. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s special plane could not fly to Lahore on time.
Rawalpindi administration and police officials kept running. The Prime Minister left Lahore three and a half hours late.
According to the sources, the aerial firing in and around the Noor Khan base was so intense that the bullet fired from an unknown direction also hit the vehicle used for the security of the Prime Minister standing at the base.
An investigation into the incident has been started. In this regard, an attempt was made to contact CPO Rawalpindi Khalid Hamdani, but his phone was not answered, however, a senior police officer confirmed the incident on condition of anonymity.
On the orders of IG Punjab, RPO Rawalpindi Syed Khurram Ali suspended two DSPs and SHOs of three police stations, including the airport, after taking notice of the bloodshed and intense aerial firing.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s plane to Lahore could not leave on time. The police of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were asked to keep the security arrangements in order around 4:00 PM of Shehbaz Sharif’s departure to Lahore. That flight operation clearance was not received from Noor Khan base.
After a delay of about three and a half hours, at nine o’clock in the night, the aerial firing and kite flying stopped, and the Prime Minister reached Noor Khan Airbase by helicopter, where Rawalpindi Antamiya and top officials of the police were also called.
Meanwhile, the security and protocol staff of the Prime Minister expressed a serious investigation on the situation in Rawalpindi. Later, when the Prime Minister left for Lahore on a special plane, the administrative and police officers of Rawalpindi died.
IG Punjab and RPO Rawalpindi Syed Khurram Ali also took strict notice of Basant and intense aerial firing and two DSPs including DSP Newtown and DSP City along with SHOs of three police stations including S. HO Airport Raja Mossadegh, SHO Rata Amaral and SHO Sadiqabad were suspended.
Three people including children were killed and more than 50 people were injured due to Basant and aerial firing, falling from the roofs and ropes, and an innocent girl was also injured on Airport Road near Noor Khan Base due to ropes being cut on her face.
