Imran Khan
Tuesday, a Pakistani court issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in two cases involving arson attacks that took place on May 9, following his detention in a corruption case. These cases are connected to the unrest that occurred after that day.
On May 10, Lahore police filed two First Information Reports (FIR) against Khan and other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party officials, accusing them of attacking and setting fire to a container and the office of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
“Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore judge Abher Gul Khan on Tuesday issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan and six other leaders of his party in two cases of arson attacks,” a court official told PTI.
He claimed that in these circumstances, police might detain the former cricketer-turned-politician and bring him before the court.
After the issue of arrest warrants for the former premier, a source in the Punjab administration told PTI that no directive had yet come from “above” (a reference to the powerful military establishment) to apprehend him.
Hassaan Niazi, Hammad Azhar, Murad Saeed, and Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, as well as former provincial cabinet members Musarrat Cheema and Mian Aslam Iqbal, are other PTI figures for whom non-bailable arrest warrants have been issued.
Khan, in a tweet on Tuesday, questioned why no investigation of attacks on the military and state installations had been carried out yet.
“Question that needs to be asked is, how come there is no investigation so far on 16 unarmed protesters confirmed shot dead by our security forces (while no policeman was injured by any bullets),” he said.
“Three of the unarmed protesters, because of bullet wounds, had to have their legs amputated while nine others who are suspected to have died, we have no news as their relatives are either underground or too scared of the police to speak out,” Khan added.
The 70-year-old PTI leader added that in a society where the rule of law prevails, a comprehensive investigation would have taken place by now, and the administration would have been held accountable.
“There has been no independent investigation even on the arson that took place on the 9th of May as the government is busy using that as a pretext to dismantle Pakistan’s biggest political party,” he alleged.
As Khan was detained by paramilitary soldiers inside the Islamabad High Court on May 9, widespread rioting broke out in Pakistan. Later, he was freed on bond.
In the violent demonstrations that followed Khan’s arrest, over 20 military installations and state buildings, including the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, were destroyed or set on fire.
About 10,000 party workers, largely from Punjab, were detained by law enforcement authorities across Pakistan, according to PTI.
The former cricketer-turned-politician Khan was removed from office after losing a vote of no confidence, which he said was a result of a US-led plot to assassinate him for having an independent foreign policy on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
