LAHORE - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was booked under charges of terrorism as he incited violence at Zaman Park when a police party reached his residence to execute court orders, according to an FIR registered against him at Lahore’s Racecourse police station.
A case was registered against the PTI chairman Imran Khan and other party leaders on Wednesday at the Racecourse police station on the complaint of SHO Rehan Anwar.
According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with the Nation, the PTI chairman and other party leaders have been booked under 20 different sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
These sections are related to interference in the state affairs, illegal gatherings and refusing to receive court summons. The FIR states that hundreds of party workers and supporters committed serious crimes after getting a nod from Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi. The party activists have been accused of damaging state properties and using petrol bombs on the behest of the party chief. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Thursday eulogized his party youth and women who faced the alleged police fascism at Zaman Park courageously to thwart their bid to arrest him and added that he was ready to talk to anyone and render any sacrifice to get the country out of the prevailing crisis.
“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Pakistan who joined us in the struggle for true freedom and to our workers from all over Pakistan, including Lahore,” he said while addressing the party workers at Zaman Park. The PTI chairman said that he would not step away from any sacrifice for the sake of the country’s development, interests and democracy.
“In this regard, I am willing to talk to anyone and take every step towards it,” he added. The PTI chairman lauded the youth of his party who faced the alleged police fascism at Zaman Park courageously. “The passion of our workers for Haqeeqii Azadi was something I prayed Almighty Allah would instill in our nation one day. Only nations with youth who value freedom above life achieve great things. When rule of law protects their fundamental rights and their minds are unshackled from an inferiority complex, they soar above humanity as the great Iqbal envisaged in the concept of his Shaheen,” he observed.
Imran Khan thanked the people of Pakistan who joined the struggle for “real freedom” and his party’s workers from all over Pakistan, including Lahore. He prayed that Allah Almighty would make the struggle and the journey towards true freedom successful.
Imran Khan said the country was standing at a decisive point as it never witnessed such scenes where security forces were coming to arrest one man.
The PTI chairman stated that authorities had only one fear, and that was Imran Khan coming back to power. He said the agenda of the imposed PDM-led government was to hold elections after arresting or disqualifying him.
He questioned Rangers’ deployment against workers of what he called the largest political party, adding that the PTI was the only federal political party which could keep the country united.
“Our worker from Gujrat Usman Jaura saved a lady from direct firing of the bloodthirsty brutal Rangers and Punjab police. In the face of the violence unleashed on us, we saw the spirit of commitment and the passion of our workers like Usman,” he added.
Imran Khan said that he was on protective bail till 18th but police arrived on 14th to arrest him despite the fact he was ready to appear before the court on March 18.
“I know what they wanted to do with me; what they did with Azam Swati and Shahbaz Gul, and the worst thing in the history of this country was what they did with innocent Zille Shah,” he averred. Imran Khan stated that they did not have fear of Allah that such a man who had nothing but love in his life, they tortured him to death.
He recalled that Pakistan did the mistake not to accept the mandate of largest political party in 1971, resultantly they lost Bangladesh, adding that the same mistake was being repeated again. Imran Khan reiterated that Nawaz Sharif was given a guarantee that Imran Khan would be jailed, as it was part of the London plan and his arrest was nothing to do with the law of the land. He further stated that five more cases had been filed against him, taking the count to 85 and he would soon make a world record by making a century of the cases against him.
“I have never broken the law of this country, if they prove anything illegal about me in these cases, they don’t need to do anything, I will quit politics myself,” he added.
The PTI chairman said that their intention was to arrest him and put him in jail in Balochistan and keep him in detention for one case after another until polls were held. He said that they believed that if Imran Khan had been put in jail, they would easily secure the victory. However, he warned that the nation was awakened now and even if he was in jail, the cabal of crooks could not avoid drubbing defeat in the polls.
The PTI chief also slammed an alleged online campaign against his wife Bushra Bibi, who, he said was never involved in any political activity and had no desire of bank balance.
He cautioned Nawaz Sharif that people would give the fugitive ‘historic’ reception when he returned. “I want to thank the SCBAP for their strong position on upholding the Constitution and rule of law. We appreciate your condemnation of excessive use of force by authorities at Zaman Park. My Party was founded on the principle of rule of law & we continue to stand by this commitment”, he said.
Talking about distribution of party’s tickets, Imran Khan said that the country was at a crossroad and he would distribute tickets himself fairly so as not to repeat the past mistake.
However, he said that those aspirants who did not get the party tickets would not revolt and would remain committed with the party cause because their purpose should not be only to become MPAs or MNAs and ministers but to make Pakistan truly a welfare state.
He said that the party would not forget the sacrifices of those leaders and workers who stood firmly with the party and played a role in the party’s fight for real independence. “Our country is standing at this stage of history, it can go either way, it can go towards the dream for which people sacrificed and it can also go towards destruction,” he added.