Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and party senior leadership have been booked under terrorism charges for allegedly injuring Islamabad police officials and creating chaos outside the Federal Judicial Complex where Khan arrived to present himself before the court in the Toshakhana case.
Ramna Police Station House Officer (SHO) registered a First Information Report (FIR) at the Islamabad Counter Terrorism Department against Imran and other PTI leaders.
It named PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, former deputy speaker Asad Qaiser, leaders Hammad Azhar, Murad Saeed, Shibli Faraz and others.
SHO Ahmed claimed that PTI workers were armed with stones which they threw at a checkpost. They also burnt down barriers and tents at the checkpost.
The FIR added that another group of PTI leaders set fire to 16 government and police vehicles and four motorcycles.
In a tweet posted early Sunday morning, the Islamabad Police said: “Fifty-two policemen were injured from incited workers pelting stones at the officials of Islamabad Capital Police and other assisting forces at the appearance of PTI Chairman Imran Khan at the Judicial Complex.”
It added that 12 vehicles of the Islamabad police and three belonging to the Punjab police and Frontier Constabulary were damaged, among which four of the Islamabad police’s were “completely burned”.
After much chaos, drama in Lahore and Islamabad, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest warrants in Toshakhana case were cancelled on Saturday by the Islamabad sessions court.
The hearing was adjourned till March 30 (Thursday) due to the turbulence and chaos witnessed today, with the judge ordering Imran to appear in personal capacity in the next hearing.
Imran Khan allowed to mark attendance in car
Prior to this, Khan arrived at the Islamabad Judicial Complex but didn’t go inside due to security concerns.
Amid unruly crowds and security concerns, the judge gave permission that Khan can mark his attendance while sitting in the car which he did and then left for Lahore.
After Lahore, clashes erupt in Islamabad
PTI supporters started throwing stones at the Islamabad police in the capital when Imran Khan made his way to court for a hearing of the Toshakhana case.
In the video, supporters carrying sticks can be seen attacking police cars.
‘Part of London plan’: Imran lashes out after police raids his Zaman Park residence
Khan lashed out at Punjab police for raiding his house in Zaman Park, Lahore.
“Meanwhile Punjab police have led an assault on my house in Zaman Park where Bushra Begum is alone,” he said in a tweet.
“Under what law are they doing this? This is part of London Plan where commitments were made to bring absconder Nawaz Sharif to power as quid pro quo for agreeing to one appointment.”
اسی دوران پنجاب پولیس نے زمان پارک میں میری رہائشگاہ پر دھاوا بول دیا ہےجہاں بشریٰ بیگم اکیلی ہیں۔ کس قانون کے تحت یہ لوگ یہ سب کر رہے ہیں؟ یہ لندن پلان کا حصہ ہے جس کے تحت ایک تقرری پر رضامندی کے عوض مفرور نواز شریف کو اقتدار میں لانے کے وعدے کئے گئے۔
The operation is over, however, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah alleged that contraband was discovered at Khan’s residence
Police broke into the house in Zaman Park, Lahore, after claiming that they were fired at from inside the house. Using heavy machinery, police smashed the entrance of the house and entered into the premises.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, in a tweet, accused Khan of using people as human shields.
He said that “from using people as human shields to throwing petrol bombs at police to leading ‘jathas’ to intimidate judiciary, he has taken a leaf out of the RSS book.”
If anyone had any doubt, Imran Niazi's antics of the last few days have laid bare his fascist & militant tendencies. From using people as human shields to throwing petrol bombs at police to leading 'jathas' to intimidate judiciary, he has taken a leaf out of the RSS book.
Later in the evening, Khan’s sister came forward to give her side of the story of the unfolding situation after police raided her brother’s house in Zaman Park.
She said that Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi is still inside the house in Zaman Park.
Khan’s sister said that police aggressively broke into Khan’s house and they even took away some children who were present at home at the time.
‘Inhon ne pura plan banaya huva hai mujhe arrest karne ka’: Imran Khan
Earlier in the day, when Imran was en route to Islamabad, he claimed that he is aware that the government will arrest him.
“I am going to court despite knowing they’ll arrest me because I believe in the rule of law.”
He mentioned being delayed due to an accident and claimed that a premeditated plan to arrest him is in place, alleging that it is part of a larger “London Plan” orchestrated by former PM Nawaz Sharif.
In line with PTI’s insistence that Khan’s life is in danger and he needs security, Islamabad Chief Commissioner shifted the hearing from F-8 Court Complex to the Judicial Complex in G-11.
The Punjab Police on Saturday raided the house of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan shortly after he left for Islamabad to appear before a court in the Toshkhana case.
Now, the police has left the area and the operation is reportedly over.
According to media reports, several things have been discovered by the police at Khan’s residence.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed that police found 16 rifles, arms, bombs and a bomb-making factory in Zaman Park.
He said that Inspector General (IG) will bring all proofs before the nation.
In a video, which is being shared on Twitter, police can be seen picking up sanitary pads.
Moreover, the bottles that were used to make petrol bombs have been found along with marbles, slingshots, five kalashnikovs and bullets, reportsGeo News.
Reacting to this news, PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry took a jibe at the police and said that “Cannon, tank shells, anti-aircraft and cocaine, and petrol bombs were recovered from Imran Khan’s residence. But Imran Khan took tanks and cannons with him.”
عمران خان کی رہائش گاہ سے توپ، ٹینک کے گولے اینٹی ائیر کرافٹ اور کوکین، چرس اور پٹرول بم برآمد۔۔ ٹینک اور توپیں عمران خان ساتھ لے گئے تھے۔۔۔ IG Punjab کی متوقع پریس کانفرنس
To refute the claims made by the government, he in another tweet claimed “that the police has taken food and drinks from the fridge and not even left the biscuits.”
According to him, a hundred thousand watches have been also taken from the pockets of the employees.
زمان پارک سے پولیس کھانے پینے کا سامان، فریج سے جوس تک اٹھا کر لے گئ ہے ، بسکٹ تک نہیں چھوڑے ملازمتیں کی جیبوں سے پانچ سو ہزار گھڑیاں سب لے گئے ہیں، یہ ہے سرچ وارنٹ مکمل نقصان کا اندازہ لگا کر پرچہ دیں گے
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, calling him “Dracula”.
The minister started off by saying that his party leaders “never shed a tear or created drama when the court asked them to appear”, however, he was of the view that “Khan pressurised the courts.”
He said that police reached Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park on the court’s order with arrest warrants. Emphasising that the police was unarmed except for shields, Rafique said that PTI loyalists injured not only the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) but also 65 other officers.
“Imran hasn’t done it for the first time, he has become Dracula”, said the minister.
He also claimed that there are some people within the establishment, judiciary and media who are still in Khan’s favour.
It is pertinent to mention here that since Tuesday the Islamabad police and Rangers have been trying to arrest Imran but failed to do so.
The police arrived with Khan’s arrest warrant which was issued by a court in Islamabad on Monday, March 13, due to his continuous absence from the hearings of the Toshakhana case. The court had also directed police to present the ex-premier in court by March 18.
A case was registered against Khan that he hadn’t disclosed gifts that he received and was supposed to deposit in Toshkahana before selling them. Despite the court’s numerous warnings, Khan didn’t appear before the judge.
Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stopped police from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
The court has said that Khan should be given a chance to present himself before the Islamabad sessions court which issued the non-bailable arrest warrants for Khan and directed the police to present him before them on March 18 (Saturday).
Imran en route to LHC to offer assurance that he will go to Islamabad tomorrow
Khan will also present himself before the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday afternoon (today) to assure the judge that he will appear before the Islamabad sessions court — which has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for him— tomorrow.
It is pertinent to mention here that since Tuesday the Islamabad police and Rangers have been trying to arrest Imran failed to do so.
The police arrived with Khan’s arrest warrant which was issued by a court in Islamabad on Monday, March 13, due to his continuous absence from the hearings of the Toshakhana case. The court had also directed police to present the ex-premier in court by March 18.
A case was registered against Khan that he hadn’t disclosed gifts that he received and was supposed to deposit in Toshkahana before selling them. Despite the court’s numerous warnings, Khan didn’t appear before the judge.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that party chairman Imran Khan is open to negotiating with the incumbent government.
اعظم نذیر تارڑ روز بیان دے رہے ہیں کہ مل کر بیٹھیں اور مسائل کا حل کریں وزیر اعظم شہباز شریف نے بھی بات چیت کا کہا ہے اس عمل کو بیان سے آگے بھی بڑھائیں اور جماعتوں کو ملنے کی تاریخ اور مقام دیں عمران خان پہلے ہی مذاکرات کی حمایت کر چکے ہیں
He said that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Law Minister Azam Tarar had stressed on holding talks and PTI welcomes these developments.
“I hope Shehbaz Sharif will invite PTI for talks on the elections schedule. However, we have one proviso: we will not discuss their corruption cases and those have to be out of talks,” said Chaudhry.
Moreover, Pakistan Bar Council urged all the political parties to set aside their differences and talk in order to solve the disputes which have plunged the country into a constitutional crisis.
The bar council said that “they are “ready to call/arrange All Parties Conference (APC) and invite all the central leadership of parliamentary parties to reconcile their disputes through dialogue and to hold free, fair and transparent elections to all Assemblies on a mutually agress timeframe.”
"Pakistan Bar Council is ready to call/ arrange All Political Conference & to invite all central leadership of parliamentary parties to reconcile their disputes through dialogue & to hold free & fair elections to all assemblies on a mutually agreed timeframe" pic.twitter.com/5v3UqyFajN
The bar council stressed that the reconciliation process should be held “for the sake of the country as it cannot afford to further linger on prevailing tensions.”
Last month, in the wake of rising terrorist attacks, PM Shehbaz Sharif called for all parties conference and invited PTI chief Imran Khan as well. However, at the time Khan refused to take part in it.
Early this week, for two days police clashed with supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as officials tried to arrest Imran Khan on a warrant issued for missing court hearings.
On Monday, March 13, a contingent of police arrived with the arrest warrant at the Lahore residence of the former Prime Minister in Zaman Park. What begun as a routine arrest ended up with the police firing tear gas as protestors tried to stop the arrest. At least 54 policemen and eight civilians suffered injuries in the clashes.
As police forces, who were joined by Rangers, tried to disperse crowds, residents of the upper-scale neighborhood have confessed that the past three days have been a complete nightmare.
Model and dancer Hafsah Haq shared pictures and videos of the clashes and revealed that wifi, mobile and television channels had been cut off since the operation began:
“Our wifi, mobile net and TV channels have been cut off since 12 am yesterday. Communicating via texts and calls has been difficult as well because of the scattered signals causing delayed texts and calls dropping.”
Haq also shared a video of tear gas being shot near her home, and revealed how her family members were exposed to it:
“Tear gas was shot everywhere. Unfortunately, one landed in the terrace where the AC’s unit is visible is where one can landed and we were on the roof. We were exposed to it and immediately rushed back inside, washing our eyes and face because the burning sensation was horrendous.”
Haq also shared a video of a tear gas shell she found inside her house, and in the caption she had written that it had expired four months ago, making it more virulent:
“When they say it’s deadly after the expiration date. And it’s four months above the expiration date.”
The Current reached out to Resident 1 who lives near Zaman Park and was told that the situation has been bad for the past three days because the internet and light had been cut off in the area, as well as the extensive tear gas shells that have injured people. She said that she found at least 200 tear gas shells from her house:
“Police and rangers have been shelling continuously for two days straight, they used rubber bullets on people and also actual bullets were found on the roads of Zaman Park.”
Resident 1 also shared pictures with us of tear gas shells, which she revealed were thrown directly on crowds. She said that she and the rest of the residents couldn’t breathe and their skin began burning.
Resident 1 said that the police had not offered evacuation or medical facilities to residents currently residing in homes of Zaman Park.
“The rescue 1122 people were not responding, so we had to force them to help.”
Resident 1 said that without proper facilities, she and the rest of her family have been helping the protestors by providing them with salt and water, as well as stopping the police from hurting them.
Cut off without proper medical facilities or food, Resident 1 has been asking for more people to donate supplies in order to help the protestors.
The Current also reached out to Resident 2 who also lives near Zaman Park and confirmed that the residents themselves have been caught in the middle of the protests and are suffering from the shelling:
“Our faces, our skins, eyes are watering. We had rashes all over our body. It was intense, like when we stepped out into our gardens there was a cloud of tear gas, and the smell stayed on for quite a while. Breathing became unbearable although most of them were inside and people who were trying to put out the shells faced the same problems.”
In video clips posted to her Instagram stories, she had revealed that all entrances and exits to Zaman Park had been sealed
Resident 2 revealed that it was currently the residents who were stepping up to help the protestors and provide them with medical aid and food.
She went on to describe the medical camp that was set up at Zaman Park which was set up by the residents to help injured people, where it was disturbing to see young women and children injured:
“It was very disturbing to see young women and children bleeding and their retina’s burst and their lips split, their teeth and arms broken. Basically badly bruised and battered by the police. It was really upsetting to see such sights and at a human level, people in whatever capacity were stepping out and helping in any way they could.”
Resident 2 shared that while the situation at Zaman Park is bleak, she was empowered by witnessing these people fighting against the government attempt to arrest Imran Khan:
“Seeing all these people fighting at the forefront for their haqeeqi-azaadi, for Naya Pakistan for everybody, for a state that will have law at the forefront. All these people, all these youngsters..they have put their best fight forward..So it’s not that they were hiding, people were relentless in this fight and its sad to see that this is leading to polarisation.”
The Lahore High Court had ordered the police to halt the operation and said that on Thursday, all parties must sit together and find a solution.
But for the residents of Zaman Park this order doesn’t bring any joy as it doesn’t mean there is any proper outcome and it doesn’t provide any guarantee of safety for the residents or for Khan’s life.
“There are currently a large number of people at Zaman Park and we don’t know what is the leadership’s next move. We do not know what is the establishment’s next move. So what the people want right now is the safety of Khan.”
She also went on to condemn the IG of Lahore for saying in a televised speech that no bullets were fired at residents during Operation Zaman Park, stressing that bullets were found on the ground.
Resident 2 went on to say that what the people currently want is the assured safety of Imran Khan, and don’t want anything to happen to him.
“The few thousands that are here right now do not want anything to happen to Khan, and they don’t want to do any undertaking where they feel his life will be under threat. If he has has to go to court…they want some assurance, they want a promise from the government that nothing will happen to him.”
Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan’s sisters have approached different forums to complain about “the disruption, road and traffic blockade and loud music at night time”, caused by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan outside his residence in Zaman Park which has affected his neighbours’ sleep, writes Umar Cheema for The News.
“They started with Imran Khan. On February 14, Dr Shireen Zafarullah and Mrs Nasreen Khalid Chima wrote the first letter to him on February 14 to inform him about ‘huge and unacceptable intrusion into our privacy being caused by the show outside your home.’ Their father, Chaudhry Muhammad Ahsan, constructed the ancestral home in Zaman Park in 1933 well before Imran’s family was allotted the house in Zaman Park after the Partition. Ali, the son of Aitzaz Ahsan, also lives in that house besides the children of sisters of Aitzaz,” reads the article.
The sisters complained about the constant noise from the loud music which lasts till 4am every night.
Not getting any response, both sisters filed an application on March 8 against the illegal encroachment outside Imran Khan’s home. The application was addressed to Chief Secretary of Punjab, Inspector General of Police, Lahore Commissioner and SHO of Race Course Police Station. However, no action was taken by the Punjab government.
Finally, they moved the Lahore High Court, which didn’t entertain the petition either. A one-member bench of Justice Asim Hafeez said they should locate a Justice of Peace to pursue this matter.
The sisters have also written to the chief justices of the Supreme Court and Lahore High Court to take notice of the problems they are facing in Zaman Park.
An Islamabad court has rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s plea which sought suspension of non-bailable arrest warrants of Khan in the Toshakhana case.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal on Thursday gave the verdict that the warrants could not be suspended on the basis of an undertaking.
On Tuesday, the former ruling party moved Islamabad High Court (IHC) requesting it to suspend Khan’s non-bailable arrest warrants in the Toshakhana case, but the high court asked Khan to approach trial court.
Currently, the situation at Khan’s Zaman Park residence is relatively calm following the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) orders of stopping the police operation till 10am today. But later, the court clarified that it has not stopped police from executing the arrest warrants and asked PTI to resolve the matter.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has once again accused the establishment of interfering in politics, emphasising that nothing happens in the country without the permission of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.
In an interview with Voice of America, Khan said, “This government is totally dependent on the establishment, nothing can happen without their consent.”
“Who is that one man?” asks the brilliant @SarahzTV. @ImranKhanPTI replies: “The army chief.”
With this, Khan has now clearly stated that after Bajwa, even General Munir is out to get him. pic.twitter.com/fzZHX0iiLF
— Uzair Younus عُزیر یُونس (@UzairYounus) March 15, 2023
Talking amidst the chaos happening right outside of his home at Zaman Park, he said, “It is too big a step for a government which has no legitimacy, no roots in this country, no moral authority. The only reason they are there is because of the establishment.”
He went on to say that the establishment is one man and that man is the army chief. “He makes the decision. Whatever he says is followed”, added Khan.
Since the ouster, Khan has been blaming the institution for removing him from power, naming ex-army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa multiple times in public.
On March 3, the PTI chief said that he is ready to hold talks with the COAS for the sake of the country, claiming that the army chief considers Imran his enemy.
