LAHORE: The official claim about an anti-encroachment operation `just to remove the barriers` outside the Tehreek-i-Minhajul Quran (TMQ) central secretariat in Lahore`s Model Town area defies logic.

The City District Government Lahore claimed it was a `routine job` late Monday night.

Although an anti-encroachment drive has been going on in the provincial metropolis since February last, there is no precedent of carrying out such an operation at night especially in a posh locality where encroachment trend is not as scandalous as in many other parts of the city.

`We reached the TMQ office at 11pm on Monday and requested security chief Altaf Shah to remove the barriers on his own by Tuesdayto avoid inconvenience. But soon the party (PAT) workers gathered there and got beside themselves saying they would not allow the officials to do so,` a senior CDGL official told Dawn.

He said the joint team of the Gulberg and Nishtar towns kept insisting on the cleanup operation but the security officer and party workers remained stuck to their guns.

The team eventually decided to put off the matter for Tuesday.

`Around 2am a good number of TMQ activists stormed Gulberg Town warehouse and deflated tyres in a bid to preempt the operation.

They also tried to set the official vehicles on fire but the official team managed to save these,` said the official who also accused the mob of pelting the officials and the police force with stones.

Asked why the team showed urgency to remove the barriers overnight, especially in view of the factthat these were not touched since 2010, he said it was done after the CDGL received various public complaints. It was a routine operation as the area fell in the jurisdiction of the union council that was covered in the scheduled plan, he said.

Another CDGL official said the TMQ men showed court orders allowing provision of security to the TMQ and Pakistan Awami Tehreek offices and their leadership.

`Removal of barriers will be a violation of court orders. If you have to take action at all, you will have to remove barriers at the roads leading to 180-H (Model Town) residence of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif,` the official quoted the TMQ secretariat security head as arguing.

He said the workers vowed to resist the move tooth and nail to protect the office as well as residence of TMQ chief Dr Tahirul Qadri. He said the CDGL team stepped backwhen the police took charge of the situation and later resorted to firing.

An official of the Gulberg Town Municipal Administration said it all seemed absurd as such an operation had never been conducted. `The operation is under way across the city but not a single attempt to remove obstacles has been made at night. It doesn`t sound logical to ask someone to remove encroachment at odd hours,` he made a point.

Speaking to Dawn, a resident of the area said the barriers were problematic for the people `but I don`t know who complained to the government for removing these.

He said around 12:30pm he rushed to the site after hearing gunfire.

`Announcement for summoning the people and workers to fight the government were being made through the TMQ central mosque loudspeakers. And within no time a huge crowd gathered,` he said.