Imran says govt wants to put him in jail before elections

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Thursday that the government wanted to put him in jail before going to elections, Aaj News reported.

Talking to party candidates outside his Lahore residence, Imran said the incumbent government is scared of elections because they know they are going to lose.

PTI chief said that his bail is till March 18 but the police came to arrest him four days earlier. “They wanted to do to me what they did to Azam Swati and Shehbaz Gill,” he claimed.

Imran said that he had done nothing illegal in life. Questioning the police action, he asked if they know that they are responsible for following illegal orders. “Does the law allow this?” he asked.

Criticising PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, he said: “Even if I am in jail, the way you will be received this time you will never forget it.”

Earlier in the day, Imran said he was “ready to talk to anyone” for Pakistan’s betterment and protect the country’s interests.

“I am ready to take every step in this direction,” he said in a Twitter post.

However, the former warned that he was prepared to give any sacrifice for the protection of Pakistan’s “interests and democracy.”

In another tweet earlier, the PTI chief expressed gratitude to the people of Pakistan for joining the “struggle for true freedom.”

He also thanked his workers from all over Pakistan, including Lahore for participating in the movement. “I pray that Allah Almighty will make our struggle and true freedom journey successful,” he wrote.

The remarks come hours after the Lahore High Court (LHC) stopped police from conducting an operation to arrest former prime minister Imran Khan from his residence in Zaman Park in Lahore till Friday 11 am.

According to a written verdict, a copy of which is available with Business Recorder, LHC Judge Tariq Saleem Sheikh will resume the case’s hearing on Friday and an “injunctive order passed yesterday shall remain in force till then”.

On Tuesday, law enforcement personnel had arrived at Zaman Park to arrest the former prime minister, following which they clashed with PTI supporters. By Wednesday afternoon, law enforcement personnel began retreating from the former prime minister’s residence without arresting him.

In a related development on Thursday, Additional District and Sessions court said that it would stop the Islamabad police from arresting PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case if the former PM surrendered in court.

The same court had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against the PTI leader on March 13 after he failed to appear in the Toshakhana case hearing and instructed police to present Imran in court by March 18.