LAHORE     -   A high political drama spreading over several hours ended here Sunday afternoon after the Islamabad police headed back to Islamabad empty-handed without arresting the PTI chairman Imran who is wanted by Islamabad court in the Toshakhana case for indictment tomorrow. “Chairman Imran Khan is not available. However, we will comply with all legal processes,” Imran Khan’s chief of staff Shibli Faraz wrote on the paper as he received the court orders at 12:58pm delivered to him by the Islamabad police on Sunday.

Strangely enough, Islamabad SP police Hussain Tahir and SHO Nadeem Tahir who had reached Zaman Park residence of the PTI chief Imran Khan to comply with the court orders did not make any attempt to arrest the accused despite having the arrest warrant issued by Additional Session Judge, West, Islamabad in Tosha Khana case.

Sources in the Punjab police said that it was not a part of the plan to arrest the PTI chief as the whole drama was staged just to unnerve the PTI leadership ahead of the court proceedings. Police sources, however, did not rule out the possibility of Khan’s arrest any time today to present him before the court tomorrow. Earlier in the day, the police team faced tough resistance from the PTI workers when it tried to enter the residence of the PTI chief. “We will not allow you to move ahead beyond this point”, a PTI worker was heard telling the police party. “You can move forward only after passing over our dead bodies”, another one warned in a video released by the PTI’s media wing. Upon being told by the police that they had come to comply with the court orders, he PTI workers present at the entry point insisted that they would call the party leaders here to receive the orders. After a lengthy argument, they eventually let the police officers go inside on the assurance that they would not be arresting the PTI chairman.

The PTI workers also manhandled SP Hussain Tahir at the exit point as he left Khan’s residence after delivering the court orders. Talking to the media outside Zaman Park, SHO Islamabad police Nadeem Tahir said the court had issued an arrest warrant of the PTI chairman in Tosha Khana case. “We are here to inform him [Imran Khan] to appear before the court. And, if you don’t, the next stage is to make the arrest. For the time being, we have come to serve the notice”.

Notably, there was a stark contradiction in what the police officer said, and what the arrest warrant issued by the court said. In the arrest warrant, posted by senior PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif on his twitter handle, the police have clear directions to arrest Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi and present him before the court on March 7.

Also, a contradiction was also evident in the statements of Islamabad IGP police Akbar Nasir and his subordinate SHO Nadeem Tahir. The former said while talking to a news channel that a police team had been sent to arrest the PTI chief whereas the latter maintained that the police was here just to serve a notice on Imran Khan to appear before the court on the said date.

In the meanwhile, when the whole drama was going on at Zaman Park, a twitter account of Islamabad police said that Imran Khan was avoiding arrest, indicating thereby that the police had gone there with the clear intent of arresting the accused. “The SP has gone to his room, but Imran Khan is not present there. The team has arrived to arrest Imran Khan”, it stated. The tweet further stated:

“The PTI leaders have told that Imran Khan is not present at his residence. A legal action will be initiated against Shibli Faraz for misstatement regarding the legal process. The PTI leaders have assured that their chief [Imran Khan] will abide by the law, so we hope that Imran Khan will appear before the court.

We will ensure compliance of court orders to present the accused Imran Khan before the court”. Speaking on the same subject, Interior Minister Rana Sana Ullah said that Islamabad Police was there to ensure compliance of court orders, but it will not be arresting Imran Khan. “When the government would like to arrest Imran Khan, he would be arrested. The PTI burgers deployed outside his residence won’t be able to stop the arrest once it is decided to arrest him”, he said while talking to the media in Faisalabad.

In all this controversy, it was not clear whether the document delivered by the Islamabad police to the PTI leaders was a kind of notice to appear before the court or the arrest warrant as shown by PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif in his twitter account. The police party present at Zaman Park kept saying they had come to serve a court notice whereas their bosses in Islamabad insisted that the police party was there to arrest the PTI chief in compliance with the arrest warrants issued by the court. Later, talking to the media, PTI’s Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry said that as many as 74 cases had been registered against Imran Khan of which 30 were of criminal nature.

He maintained that it was not possible for a human to appear in courts in such a large number of cases. He also threatened that the PTI will give a call for countrywide peaceful protests if the government arrested Imran Khan.

PTI’s Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that they will consult with the party lawyers regarding the court notice and announce the next strategy accordingly. He said that Imran Khan had always respected the law and the courts and even appeared before the court against the advice of his doctors. He also appealed to the party workers to remain calm as there was no need to get panicked.

“However, we need to be cautious and follow the legal process”, he said.

Meanwhile, Islamabad police warned of legal action against those obstructing execution of court orders. In a statement, the Islamabad police said that police will transfer Imran Khan to Islamabad under its protection. Reacting to the statement by Islamabad police, Senator Shibli Faraz said that while receiving the court orders he had not written that Imran Khan was not present at his Zaman Park home.

On the receiving note, Shibli Faraz had written that Imran Khan was not “available”. “I wrote this according to the existing situation. If I have committed some crime, I am ready to face the legal proceeding”, he maintained.