Politics

‘Police have surrounded my house,’ Imran Khan says fearing arrest

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said Wednesday that police have surrounded his Zaman Park residence in Lahore — where he is currently residing — and expressed fears that he could be taken into custody.

“Probably my last tweet before my next arrest. Police has [sic] surrounded my house,” the PTI chief said in a tweet.

Probably my last tweet before my next arrest .
Police has surrounded my house.https://t.co/jsGck6uFRj
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 17, 2023

Khan was arrested on May 9 — the day when the country witnessed deadly protests — in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, but a court later granted him bail.

Later, addressing his party workers, the deposed prime minister — who was removed from office in April last year — that if the police come with a search warrant to carry out an operation at his Zaman Park residence, he would not put up resistance against them.

“I have just heard that 40 terrorists are hiding at my residence. Please do come here [but] in a civilised manner and don’t attempt to storm my residence,” he said while addressing his supporters.

“If 40 terrorists are present at my house, then my life is also in danger. Please carry out a search operation but tell me the names of terrorists and we will show you our entire house.”

He also warned against using the search operation against terrorists as a pretext to attack his house saying “don’t fan this fire any further”.

His statement came as the interim Punjab government has given a 24-hour deadline to the PTI to hand over the “30-40 terrorists that have taken refuge” at the former prime minister’s Zaman Park residence to the police.

“PTI should handover these terrorists or the law will take its course,” said Caretaker Information Minister Aamir Mir while addressing a press conference in Lahore earlier today. He also added that the government was aware about the presence of these “terrorists” as it had credible intelligence reports.

“The intelligence report that has come is very alarming,” said Mir. He added that the agencies were able to confirm the presence of the “terrorists” in Zaman Park through geo-fencing.

“PDM running away from elections”

In today’s address, Khan said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government was not going to hold elections in the country even if they had to violate Constitution.

The ruling alliance is afraid that Khan will come into power if the elections are held and reopen their corruption cases worth billions of rupees.

Referring to the ongoing crackdown on the PTI leaders and workers over their alleged involvement in violent protests, the deposed premier expressed concerns that “whatever is happening will trigger a huge backlash that will cause more damage”.

While denying any role in the ransacking of public and military installations following his arrest on May 9, the PTI chief said they were moving the court to form a judicial commission to probe the countrywide riots.

“We have received evidence [that] miscreants were infiltrated who had weapons and were asking people to attack the Corps Commander House,” he remarked.

Khan said as many as 25 workers of PTI were killed and 700 were receiving medical treatment after they were shot at during the violent protests.

Besides, he said thousands of workers and leaders had been put in jail.

Latest News

PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

Published

13 hours ago

Farwa

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

Latest News

Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

Latest News

A bill pertaining to the number of Supreme Court justices will soon be presented.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), recently met, and the inside story of their conversation has revealed important political developments.

The leaders talked about a variety of constitutional and governance matters, including the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, according to sources.

One of the primary outcomes of the conference was the decision to expeditiously introduce a bill in parliament that would increase the number of judges on the Supreme Court. Immediately after it is introduced in parliament, this law is expected to be approved in a matter of days.

In addition, the recently ratified 26th Constitutional Amendment was discussed, with particular attention paid to creating a system for the establishment of constitutional benches at the federal and provincial levels. The formation of constitutional benches would be the subject of formal meetings, they agreed.

Furthermore, the leaders examined the pending measure concerning the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) municipal authority, which has been sent to the appropriate committee for additional assessment.

They also discussed the implementation of an agreement on Punjabi issues between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). According to sources, the conference also discussed the status of an agreement over fund release and administrative jobs in Punjab.

Bilawal Bhutto was reassured by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that the federal government would continue to support continued development initiatives in Sindh.

PM Sharif and Bilawal met on Sunday at the premier’s Model Town home in Lahore, where they talked about the newly ratified 26th Constitutional Amendment and pledged to support Pakistan’s parliamentary system and democracy.

As a historic step, Bilawal Bhutto celebrated the 26th Constitutional Amendment’s adoption during the meeting. He said: “We will work together to strengthen democracy and parliament.”

In agreement, Shehbaz credited the amendment’s accomplishment to the combined efforts of all coalition members. He promised that his commitment to the people would not falter and reiterated his commitment to public service.