- Ex-PM Imran Khan is accused of sheltering aides and supporters wanted over attacks on the army following his arrest last week.
- A Pakistani official has warned Imran had 24 hours to hand them over, and that a police operation would be launched if he did not comply.
- A politician belonging to Khan’s PTI party, told the reporter that the allegation is “only going to increase the political temperature and it is very dangerous”.
- Imran Khan, meanwhile, has claimed that Pakistan is heading towards an imminent disaster and it may face disintegration.
Ex-PM Imran Khan is accused of sheltering aides and supporters wanted over attacks on the army following his arrest last week. A Pakistani official has accused former Prime Minister Imran Khan of sheltering aides and supporters wanted over attacks on the army following his arrest last week, and warned he had 24 hours to hand them over.
“We have intelligence that some 30 to 40 terrorists who were involved in attacking our army’s buildings and installations are hiding at Zaman Park,” Punjab province’s information minister Amir Mir told reporters on Wednesday, referring to the upmarket Lahore neighborhood where Khan lives. “We are giving an ultimatum that these terrorists should be turned over to the police, or else there will be action,” he told a news conference in the city. Mir said Khan had 24 hours to surrender the suspects, and that a police operation would be launched if he did not comply.
In response, a politician belonging to Khan’s PTI party told reporters that the allegation is “only going to increase the political temperature and it is very dangerous”. “It is very rich of this caretaker government, which is in power only to hold elections, not even do their constitutional duty. They are leading a crackdown of a sort that has never before been seen in the country,” he said.
Imran Khan, meanwhile, has claimed that Pakistan is heading toward an imminent disaster and it may face disintegration. He also warned that the ruling coalition of hatching a conspiracy to pit the army against his party.
The Army sealed all the roads that led to Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence and is expected to take action in the afternoon against Imran Khan who is likely to skip the National Accountability Bureau appearance. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto has summoned Pakistan People’s Party Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on the political situation.
In a video-link address from his Zaman Park residence, the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief said the only solution to end political instability was to hold elections. “The PDM leaders and Nawaz Sharif, who is absconding in London, are least concerned whether the country’s constitution is desecrated, state institutions are destroyed or even Pakistan Army earns a bad name. They are looking for their vested interests of saving the looted wealth alone,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
