LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has pinned his hopes on the judiciary and ‘establishment’ to end intermittent clashes between police and his party’s workers outside his residence, and warned that if the “charade doesn’t end immediately then the entire country would descend into anarchy”.
“My workers are not listening to me. If madness prevails and non-stop police shelling continues, the party workers would become infuriated and hence they are bound to refuse my orders,” the former PM said while addressing the nation through a video link on Wednesday.
Turning to the ‘establishment’, he expressed the hope that they would end the “charade” and think about the country. He urged them not to become a party to the ‘London plan’. “This country is heading towards destruction and I appeal to you to think of this country,” he added.
Toshakhana reference: Islamabad court issues non-bailable arrest warrant against Imran Khan
He showed teargas shells that he claimed had been found from around his residence. “Not just shells, but bullets are also being fired at my house.” He termed the police action “a plan to attack him”.
“What was my crime? I have never seen such an attack on a political leader’s house. What did I want? All I had asked for was for my case to be transferred to a court with adequate security.
On my last appearances at the Lahore and Islamabad high courts, there was no security or protection. But arrest warrants were issued for my arrest. It is unprecedented that a former prime minister has been refused security and is being attacked.
“Those who call themselves neutral, I ask them why Rangers were sent to my house? They were climbing the wall of my house and were about to enter. What crime did I commit that the Rangers were sent to attack me here? After all this, will anyone believe that our establishment is neutral? Do the powerful quarters that control the country care about Pakistan? They should ponder over where the country is heading,” he said.
The PTI chairman claimed that he was ready to go to jail and that he had even packed his bags, but his workers stopped him. They knew that ever since the PTI was ousted from power, its leaders were subjected to “custodial torture” and their workers feared the same for him, he said. “What will happen if I am sent to jail? The party will only become stronger and the repercussions for the country would be adverse.”
He claimed that since his removal from power, he had tried his best to not become a reason for violence in the country. The PTI had always remained peaceful and whenever the possibility arose it cancelled its events in the interest of the country.
Imran Khan rejected all the charges against him in the Toshakhana case as “frivolous” and maintained that the court which had been summoned was “unsafe”. “The case against me is being heard at the F8 court in Islamabad where blasts have been reported in the past that claimed the lives of many lawyers and judges. He maintained that the federal interior ministry had itself declared that his life was in danger. He also claimed that those currently in government were the same people who were behind the Wazirabad attack on his convoy.
In an earlier video message, he said the police were refusing to accept an undertaking to appear before the court that issued his arrest warrants. This showed the “bad intentions of law enforcement agencies”.
“As of yesterday afternoon, Zaman Park looked as though it was occupied Kashmir. Why did the police feel the need to attack people and cause harm to property with water canons and teargas shelling? “I gave an undertaking today, only to prevent violence. Ishtiaq Khan, who is the president of Lahore High Court Bar Association, gave a surety bond, which he tried to hand over to the deputy inspector general (of police) who was coming for my arrest. The advocate had reported through a public statement that the police officer intentionally did not meet him,” said the former premier.
While reading out Section 76 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, he averred that if a surety bond was given to the arresting officer, he could not carry out the arrest. He maintained that his arrest had nothing to do with law, but was a part of the “London conspiracy”. An “agreement” was signed in the British capital to put him into jail, destroy his party, and end all the cases against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023