LAHORE: Hashim Dogar, the Punjab home minister, offered to serve coffee to special assistant to the prime minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday after the latter was not found at the house during a police raid pertaining to the investigation into May 25 incident.

“Atta Tarar you said yesterday that you may come to any city in Punjab,” Dogar said in a series of tweets after updating on the police’s action on Friday. “Let’s get you some coffee.”

Cops sent a call-up notice to the house in Tarar’s absence for investigation pertaining to cases on ‘Azadi March’ day when police fired tear gas at PTI supporters gathered at Liberty Chowk, Lahore and stopped them from moving forward. The PTI had announced to march towards Islamabad against inflation and the coalition government.

Police in a statement claimed that Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi had sent a request against Tarar, adding that the premier’s aide was apparently involved in violence during PTI’s ‘Azadi March’.

Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday that a joint investigation team of Punjab police would be formed and summon PML-N leaders Rana Sanaullah, Attaullah Tarar, Hamza Shehbaz, and Ahmed Malik in the May 25 incident. The development had come after the Federal Investigation Agency launched a probe against two PTI leaders.

“Mr Atta Tarar appear [before police] the law is waiting for you,” Dogar said, “Today, police have given a notice to your house in Lahore. If you understand the power of law, then appear in Lahore.”

He said that a progress report has been summoned from different districts on the investigation.

Tarar described the Punjab home minister as a “frivolous character” while reacting to the development.

“In the house where I lived 15 years ago, what do you want to prove by sending the police to harass a passerby? This is your situation, you have to run the ministry. Do not go so far in defence of anti-national statements,” he said in a tweet.

The PML-N and the PTI have been trading barbs since former primer Imran Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence. Both sides accuse each other of damaging the economy and corruption.

The Punjab police claimed that they have not violated the sanctity of anyone’s space, neither had it climbed any walls nor it arrested anyone. They said it in an apparent reference to previous police group action against PTI leaders ahead of the protest in May.

They vowed to conduct an inquiry as per the law against the accused.