LAHORE: More contingents have reached PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence — where a stand-off between party supporters and law enforcers has been going on for more than 20 hours — for the former prime minister’s arrest in the Toshakhana case.
A tense situation prevailed in Lahore in the early hours of Wednesday as police made a fresh attempt to arrest former prime minister Imran Khan but they were facing resistance from hundreds of his supporters gathered outside his residence in Zaman Park Lahore.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters on Tuesday night took control of Zaman Park Lahore following an hours-long face-off with police, who arrived to arrest former prime minister Imran Khan.
The police failed to arrest the former premier despite the passage of 19 hours as PTI workers laid siege to the path leading to Imran Khan’s residence as well as Canal Road.
After the deployment of Rangers, the PTI chairman, in a series of tweets today, claimed that the “real intent is to abduct and assassinate him” as the police have “now resorted to live firing”.
“From tear gas & water cannons, they have now resorted to live firing. I signed a surety bond last evening, but the DIG refused to even entertain it. There is no doubt of their mala fide intent,” he said.
In another video shared on PTI’s Twitter account in the wee hours of Wednesday, the PTI chief said that his arrest was part of the “London plan”.
The former prime minister also claimed that in order to “avoid anarchy”, he had signed an undertaking and his counsel Ishtiaq A Khan tried presenting the surety to the Islamabad police deputy inspector general (DIG) sent to arrest him.
Islamabad police team on Tuesday reached Lahore to arrest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan after a district and sessions court issued his non-bailable arrest warrants for failing to attend the hearing in the Toshakhana reference.
The court of ADSJ Zafar Iqbal restored non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran in the Toshakhana reference. It instructed the police to arrest the PTI chief and present him in court by March 18.
In a statement, the Islamabad police spokesperson said that they have reached Lahore to arrest PTI chief on court orders. Later, party workers and police officials clashed outside his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
The Islamabad police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse PTI workers gathered outside party chief Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
In a video message shared on Twitter on Tuesday, the PTI chief urged the nation to stand resolute and fight for ‘Haqeeqi Azadi (real freedom) and rule of law’.
Imran Khan noted that the government believes the nation will ‘not react’ if he gets arrested, urging the party workers and supporters to prove the incumbent rulers ‘wrong’.
