ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister and Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, speaking informally to journalists during the break of the hearing, warned that once again there will be a severe reaction and the same situation of law and order would be created if he was arrested again.
He said political activists become disoriented in the absence of leadership and may resort to violent protests if their leader is arrested for violating the law. “If I’m not out there, then who’s going to stop people [from protesting],” he explained.
Citing reports of violent protests following his arrest at the Islamabad High Court premises, he warned that a similar reaction would be seen if he was arrested again. However, he added, he would not resist if his bail plea was rejected.
“I don’t want such a situation to happen again, because this is my country and my army,” he said, revealing that the Punjab police had arrived to arrest him.
The PTI chief did not respond to a question about the arrest experience. However, to a question regarding claims that he was given “extraordinary relief” compared to other political leaders, Khan said: “Relief in that! I was sitting in the High Court. They had me arrested. There was no justification.
Calling his arrest a kidnapping, he said the warrants were shown to him after he was taken to jail. The PTI chief asserted that this is the law of the jungle.
Where did the police and the law go? It seems that martial law has been declared here. Before his hearing, JEE News reporter asked Khan if he had met the establishment during his imprisonment. Khan replied, shaking his head in the negative.
Then he was asked: “Are you firm or have you made a deal?” This time too the PTI chief did not respond, instead smiling, asking the reporter if Khan’s silence was a sign that he had done a deal.
Again, Khan did not respond verbally and instead put a finger to his mouth to indicate silence.
Separately, PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Friday alleged that they (the rulers) abducted him from the court premises despite being granted bail and released by three IHC judges.
In a video message released to the media by PTI’s central media department, Imran complained that he was being stopped in the court on one pretext or the other and was not being allowed to go out.
Courts have granted me bail everywhere and there is no case against me and I am free. Yet I have been kidnapped and kept here. I want to tell the whole nation that this is dishonesty. He wants to do something again,” he added. The PTI chairman said he wanted to tell the nation that when the decisions of the courts are not implemented in a country, when the law is not given importance, the nation is peaceful. There should be protests. He added that when the constitution and law are not respected, it means that we are being made goats and sheep and the powerful can do whatever they want.
He said that the three judges of the court have given their verdict and now they are free, then why are they being kept in the court. He asked the nation to be ready for a peaceful protest. Earlier, Imran, who had initially decided to stay at his Bani Gala residence on Friday, decided to return to Zaman Park Lahore instead.
“There is no particular reason; the PTI chairman’s choice was ultimately Zaman Park,” PTI Central Information Secretary Farrukh Habib told JEE News when asked about this.
In a statement issued here, PTI Central Information Secretary said that Imran Khan will go from Islamabad High Court (IHC) to Zaman Park Lahore, and PTI workers and supporters will also accompany him. .
Farrukh said that PTI workers and supporters will also be with their leader at Zaman Park. Earlier, he insisted that special security arrangements should be made for Imran Khan after he was granted bail by the Lahore High Court in all cases. He said the court had restrained the fascist government from arresting the PTI chairman in any case till Monday, not even in a secret case. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to make foolproof security arrangements for the former prime minister, he said, adding that the fascist government should stay away from any illegal activities. Farrukh claimed that all the conspiracies of the fascist regime had failed, as the IHC stopped the police from arresting Imran Khan under MPO 16 and MPO 3.
He further said that ‘PTI Chairman will continue to appear in courts everywhere and all fake cases will prove his innocence according to law’.
Apart from this, PTI chairman’s former chief of staff, Dr Shahbaz Gul, said that now is the time to pay homage to the martyrs who fought against the thieves and the fascist regime for the release of their leader.
In one of his video messages, PTI Senator Azam Khan Swati said that thanks be to Allah, every intelligent person of the country is adamant that the country can be saved only by following the constitution and supremacy of the country’s law.
