PTI founder Imran Khan has claimed that police and Rangers stormed his residence in Zaman Park on March 14. He acknowledged calling for a protest outside the army headquarters in Rawalpindi before his arrest.
During a hearing at Adiala prisons, the former prime minister stated, “I had called for a peaceful protest outside the General Headquarters (GHQ) before my arrest,” adding that on March 14, police and Rangers attacked his house in Zaman Park. He further revealed that law enforcers forcibly entered his house again on March 18, and the Judicial Complex witnessed shelling both inside and outside its compound.
Khan recalled a previous incident where, prior to his court appearance before Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal, violent clashes erupted between his supporters and security forces. He claimed that the government was planning to either assassinate or arrest him inside the Judicial Complex. Reflecting on the March 18 incident, Khan said he anticipated his arrest and subsequently called for a peaceful protest in front of the PAK Army’s headquarters.
Khan noted that his legal team assured him they would cooperate with the investigation and surrender to the police for arrest. When questioned, the 71-year-old former premier remarked that martial law was preferable to a technocratic regime but added, “An unannounced martial law, however, remains in place in the country, already.”
BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, in its “Pakistan Country Risk Report” published on July 18, explored potential successors to the incumbent government. It suggested that if the government were replaced, a technocratic administration would be more likely than fresh elections.
On July 15, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore approved a 10-day physical remand of the ousted premier related to the May 9, 2023, protests. Khan attended the hearing via video link in ATC judge Arshad Nadeem’s courtroom. He denied the charges and told the court that he had no involvement in the May 9 events or the riots.
“I was attacked in Wazirabad,” Khan said, adding that an FIR was not registered according to his wishes despite his party’s government in Punjab. He also alleged that CCTV footage from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises had disappeared. Referring to the raid on his Zaman Park residence, Khan said he called for a peaceful protest in response to the “attack on my home.”
Ousted from power through a no-confidence motion in April 2022, Khan requested the Supreme Court to conduct a judicial inquiry into the May 9 mayhem. He also reminded the chief justice to hear his petition. The ATC was handling 12 cases related to the May 9 riots, during which protesters targeted government and military installations.
In a recent twist, Lahore police acted swiftly after Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were acquitted in the iddat case, also known as the un-Islamic nikah case, which was the last hurdle to their release from jail. However, the couple was re-arrested in a new NAB reference related to Toshakhana gifts. Following the anti-corruption watchdog securing Khan’s eight-day remand in the Toshakhana case, Lahore police also declared his arrest in connection with the 12 cases related to the May 9 riots registered at various police stations in the provincial capital.
