In light of this alleged plan, the PTI chairman also issued instructions to his supporters asking them not to provoke the police at any cost….reports Asian Lite News
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed the police chiefs of Punjab and Islamabad alongside their “handlers” have hatched a conspiracy to kill him as they are “getting serious to assassinate him”.
“The IGs of Punjab and Islamabad have constituted two separate squads, who will join the PTI workers and open fire on the police… to provoke an armed retaliation and eventually reach (inside the house) and assassinate me, in a day or two,” Dawn news quoted the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief as saying in a statement.
“The IGs and handlers have planned a Model Town-type murder,” he alleged.
In light of this alleged plan, the PTI chairman also issued instructions to his supporters asking them not to provoke the police at any cost.
“If the police want to approach me with any warrant or for any other matter, let them approach me directly,” Khan said.
“Even if I will be arrested and they try to take me to jail, I will go to jail happily,” he said, adding that he would never wish any harm on his party workers.
“The incumbent government and its plans to kill me failed and now they have become jittery and are taking extreme measures.
Khan urged the youth to make a promise of standing up against the incumbent government’s oppression even if he’s killed, reports Dawn news.
“Put up a fight until the last ball because the government wants to create an environment of fear so that no one should stand up and question them about their wrongdoing,” the PTI chief explained and added the government should know that the movement would not be stopped.
Experts believe that the legal nexus around Khan is getting more and more tight…writes Hamza Ameer
More legal cases are piling up against Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan following the violence staged by his supporters during his hearing at the Islamabad Judicial Complex in the Toshakhana case.
Till now, the total number of cases have gone up to 80.
As per details, the latest case has been lodged against the former premier and members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party at Islamabad’s Golra Sharif police station for setting government vehicles a blaze, attacking police officials and snatching away their official weapons.
This comes after the Punjab Police raided Khan’s residence at Zaman Park, Lahore in a clearance operation, immediately after he left for Islamabad to appear before the judges at the judicial complex.
Punjab’s caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir rejected PTI claims of a forced and illegal operation, asserting that the authorities conducted clearance operation after obtaining a search warrant by the authorities.
“We did a clearance operation. There were hundreds of sand bags installed around the house. We recovered illegal weapons from the premises, petrol bombs, bows and marbles balls which were being used to attack police and security officials.
“Imran Khan’s house and its vicinity was turned into a no-go area with armed people guarding it illegally. We cannot allow that. Dozens of our police officials were attacked, assaulted and injured by miscreants present inside and around the residence,” he added.
According to latest reports, security forces have already rounded up over 17 PTI workers from Islamabad and raided residences of several party leaders.
Khan had travelled from Lahore to Islamabad on Sunday, taking with him thousands of his supporters, to appear before the judges in the Toshakhana case.
At least 4,000 of his supporters had reached the Sector G-11 judicial complex.
Khan faces charges of concealing details of the gifts he had acquired from the depository in his asset declarations submitted before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which had filed the complaint against him.
However, upon his arrival, the police and activists engaged in fierce and violent clashes outside the complex as Khan’s supporters wanted to accompany him into the court premises but were not permitted by the security forces.
This compelled the court to cancel the former premier’s non-bailable arrest warrant and adjourn the hearing of the case till March 30 after marking his attendance at the judicial complex’s main gate.
Experts believe that the legal nexus around Khan is getting more and more tight as the current government looks to tackle his popularity and his political relevance through the legal course with an aim to see him out of the race before the general elections take place later this year.
Pak defence minister said an agenda was ruthlessly pushed against the then Nawaz Sharif government
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif insists that former spy master Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed played a key role in removing Nawaz Sharif from premiership, local media reported.
Asif feigned ignorance about any investigation related to Gen Hameed’s brothers, as opposed to the claims made by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Samaa TV reported.
The defence minister said if party leader Maryam Nawaz has made any comments about the probes, she must have some information.
He said a lot of evidence has come into the public domain that a process had started during Nawaz Sharif’s prime ministership.
An agenda was ruthlessly pushed against the then Nawaz Sharif government, Samaa TV reported.
Asif also alleged that Lt Gen (retd) Hameed played a key role in removing Nawaz Sharif, and bringing PTI chief Imran Khan to power.
He added that Khan’s wishes were implemented by the former spy chief.
“We are talking about the accountability of a former soldier,” Asif stressed, Samaa TV reported.
He alleged that the 2018 elections were engineered, people were imprisoned and punished.
If Khan was honest, he remarked, the country would have gone on the path of development. He further said if Khan had admitted that the army was neutral, there would have been an improvement in country’s affairs.
He claimed Khan wanted Hameed to remain the chief of the premier intelligence agency, and wanted to appoint him the army chief, Samaa TV reported.
He taunted that PTI Chairman could make anyone his “political godfather” for personal gains.
Imran Khan had been on bail on medical grounds in a case lodged against him for protesting outside the ECP office..reports Asian Lite News
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ordered that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan should be presented before it in an “ambulance if he is injured and cannot walk” as he seeks protective bail in a case, media reports said.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh’s remarks came on Wednesday as he heard Khan’s plea seeking protective bail in a case lodged against him for protesting outside the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) office, Geo News reported.
The PTI chief moved the high court after an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad rejected his bail in the same case earlier in the day � after Khan failed to appear in person before it, the report said.
The PTI leader was booked in the case in October last year after the Toshakhana verdict was announced by the ECP, sparking countrywide protests. Khan had been on bail on medical grounds after he was injured in an assassination attempt in Wazirabad during a rally on November 3.
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Not only had the ATC summoned the PTI chief, but a banking court had also asked Khan to appear before it in the prohibited funding case. However, the Islamabad High Court ordered the banking court to hold its verdict till February 22 � in a sigh of relief for the ex-Prime Minister.
At the onset of the hearing, Khan’s legal counsel contended that according to his medical report, it was difficult for the PTI chief to walk.
“Khan wants to appear in the relevant court, however, according to the doctor, he will not be able to walk again for three weeks,” he contended.
Khan’s counsel then requested the court to grant him protective bail on medical grounds, Geo News reported.
To this, Justice Saleem said, “The appearance of the suspect is necessary even in the case of a protective bail.”
He added that in light of the problem, the PTI chief could come to the court in an ambulance, Geo News reported.
Khan was on interim bail in the case pertaining to protests outside the Election Commission of Pakistan ( and the court provided him the opportunity to appear before it on Wednesday…reports Asian Lite News
An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on Wednesday rejected PTI chief Imran Khan’s bail plea in a case pertaining to protests outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after the former premier failed to appear before the judge, media reports said.
Khan was on interim bail in the case and the court provided him the opportunity to appear before it on Wednesday, The Express Tribune reported.
Earlier, the hearing commenced without Khan under ATC judge Raja Jawad Abbas. Khan’s lawyer Babar Awan presented his arguments and made submissions before the court.
He maintained that the terrorism section did not apply to the case and highlighted that if the court gave that finding, the case could be transferred to another court.
The judge stated that the merit case could not be heard without the accused present, and that the current hearing was regarding the former premier’s bail application, The Express Tribune reported.
The lawyer maintained that Khan could not travel for ‘genuine reasons’ and that no recovery was needed from Khan in the case. He added that Pakistan is the only country where the entire cabinet is thinking of arresting the PTI chief.
The judge stated that the court would set precedents that would be fixed forever, adding that he would give the same relief to a powerful person as he would to the common man, The Express Tribune reported.
Awan said that an additional sessions judge had granted Khan interim bail till February 27 and requested the ATC do the same. He reiterated that the deposed premier “tried but was unable to travel”.
Imran Khan termed Gen Bajwa, who retired in November last year, ‘super king’ and admitted that his three-and-a-half-year stint in the Prime Minister’s Office was more like of a puppet…reports Asian Lite News
After months of allegations, former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has given a clean chit to the United States and instead held former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa responsible for the ‘conspiracy’ which resulted in his ouster via a no-confidence motion in April last year.
The PTI chairman made these remarks during an interview with the Voice of America and a separate televised address on Sunday. On both occasions, the former premier took swipes at the ex-chief of army staff, who, according to Imran Khan, was the source of all the crises plaguing Pakistan today, Dawn reported.
“Whatever happened, now as things unfold, it wasn’t the U.S. who told Pakistan [to oust me]. It was unfortunately, from what evidence has come up, [former army chief] Gen [Qamar Javed] Bajwa who somehow managed to tell the Americans that I was anti-American. And so, it [the plan to oust me] wasn’t imported from there. It was exported from here to there,” Khan told VoA in a sharp U-turn from his previous position of blaming the US.
In the televised address, Imran Khan termed Gen Bajwa, who retired in November last year, ‘super king’ and admitted that his three-and-a-half-year stint in the Prime Minister’s Office was more like of a puppet, Dawn reported.
“Gen Bajwa had become an expert of everything, including economy, politics, and foreign policy,” Khan alleged.
“Gen Bajwa used to get the credit for good decisions and Imran Khan used to serve as a punching bag for every wrong decision,” Khan claimed, alleging that the former army chief was responsible for the “political and economic ills” faced by the country today, Dawn reported.
TTP said its war was against the security forces and intelligence agencies, not against any political personality…reports Asian Lite News
The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group has refuted a claim made by former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan that people from South Waziristan had been tasked to kill him, the media reported
TTP said its war was against the security forces and intelligence agencies, not against any political personality, Dawn reported.
“We have received information that the head of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in a meeting with the party’s provincial spokespersons claimed an assassination attempt was being planned by the TTP and South Waziristan residents have been tasked with executing the task,” a TTP statement said.
It added that a similar baseless claim was made by some party members 10 days ago.
The statement said that the outfit’s war was against security forces and intelligence agencies and not against political figures, Dawn reported.
However, it warned politicians of attacks if they became part of the war.
Will former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan go to jail after Fawad Chaudhry’s dramatic arrest? – writes Rana Banerji
A clear message has been conveyed to former Prime Minister Imran Khan with the dramatic arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI)’s former Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhry earlier this week. The arrest was made from outside his Lahore house in the early hours of Wednesday, January 25 by a posse from Kohsar Police Station, Islamabad represented a sharp rap on the knuckles of former Prime Minister, Imran Khan.
It signifies that with the PTI- Pakistan Muslim League (Q) coalition government of former Chief Minister Pervez Elahi dissolved in Punjab, and the Caretaker regime under Syed Mohsin Naqvi firmly in the saddle, outspoken PTI leaders would no longer have leeway to keep lambasting the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government at the Centre or senior government officials discharging their official duties.
52-year-old Fawad Chaudhry hails from a prominent political family from Dina, Jhelum district with old moorings in the Pakistan Muslim League. His uncle, Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain served as Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court from 2002 to 2007. Himself a lawyer, Fawad had developed typical political ambitions during a career which saw him peregrinating from various ruling dispensations in quest of perks of office.
Starting from contesting the Member Provincial Assembly seat from Dina (MP-25) as an independent candidate, he joined the All-Pakistan Muslim League floated by sycophants of former President Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in 2011. He then moved to the People’s Party of Pakistan in January, 2012 and was inducted as Special Assistant to Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani for Information. In 2016, he contested the National Assembly NA-63 seat from Jhelum on a Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e Azam) party ticket but lost.
Fawad Chaudhry. (Photo: Twitter/@fawadchaudhry)
In 2018, he joined the PTI and won from both the NA -67 Jhelum National Assembly and the Punjab Provincial Assembly seat PP-27 Jhelum, becoming in the process an articulate loyalist of emerging Prime Ministerial aspirant, Imran Khan and even an aspirant for the post of CM Punjab.
Possessing the gift of the gab, he supplicated Imran in earnest, holding the prestigious Information Ministry at the Centre briefly (Aug 2018) before being shafted, for a temporary gaffe, to the less important Ministry of Science and Technology (April, 2019). He made a comeback, however, to the Information Ministry (April, 2021). Especially after Imran’ ouster from power in April, 2022, Fawad Chaudhry came to the forefront echoing his master’s vituperations against Federal Government Ministers, officials and even Army Generals.
In recent times, as cases for violation of rules in the Toshakhana (false declaration/concealment of assets) and illegal foreign funding were taken up in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), making Imran’s disqualification and possible arrest imminent, both Imran and Fawad Chaudhry had become very offensive in their criticism of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of Pakistan, Sikandar Sultan Raja and his team of officials. Raja is a former bureaucrat appointed, ironically enough, by Imran Khan himself when he was Prime Minister.
According to the FIR filed by a senior ECP office Chaudhry called the ECP a ‘munshi’ and threatened the CEC, ECP members and their families that they will pay back in kind (read ‘violence’) if anything ‘unjust’ happened to the PTI.
On his way to National Assembly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stops by D-Chowk to appreciate the efforts of Police, Rangers, Administration and other law enforcing agencies. (Photo: Twitter@PakPMO)
The charges in the FIR against Fawad Chaudhry include Section 124-A (sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc.), 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation).
Chaudhry’s arrest on Jan 25 morning was likened, by his wife, Hiba to a ‘kidnapping’.
Another PTI politician, Farrukh Habib tried to jump before the police cars whisking him away.
The Islamabad Police took transit remand from a Lahore judicial magistrate before taking him away. Despite this, PTI supporters moved a habeas corpus petition before the Court of Justice Tariq Saleem of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
It may be noted in this context, that recent judgements of the LHC were perceived to be one-sided and partial to the PTI.
Predictably, Justice Saleem demanded immediate return and production before him of Fawad Chaudhry.
He summoned the newly appointed Inspector General of Police, Punjab, Usman Anwar as well as the IGP, Islamabad to appear before him in person by 6 p.m. the same evening.
However, after a quick medical examination and production of Fawad Chaudhry in the court of Islamabad judicial magistrate, Naveed Khan on January 25 afternoon, the case petered out.
IGP, Punjab, Dr Anwar appeared before Justice Saleem, explaining that the Punjab Police no longer had jurisdiction. Thereafter, the habeas corpus petition was dismissed.
After an initial 2-day police remand, Fawad Chaudhry has been given 12-days’ judicial remand by Judge Raja Waqas Ahmed and lodged in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi.
After Chaudhry’s arrest, Imran Khan held a press conference alleging this was an attempt to silence him and scuttle his election agenda.
He also asked President Arif Alvi to help. The latter came down to Lahore, this time staying only at the Governor’s house but apparently explained his limitations in this regard.
Fawad Chaudhry resorted to bravado during his arrest, claiming to have been victimized like Nelson Mandela, but later toned down his defiance by stating during court deposition that as party spokesperson, he was opining what was the party’s policy, not his personal opinion.
Media personnel in Pakistan criticised his arrest as an attempt to muzzle freedom of opinion.
The Supreme Court Bar Association also took up cudgels on his behalf.
However, protests on the streets of Lahore and Islamabad, called for by Imran Khan’s supporters fizzled out.
The perception predominantly prevails in Pakistani public opinion now that Chaudhry is paying for the wild oats he sowed in his recent attacks on Army Generals by name and he is likely to cool his heels in custody for a while.
The message has clearly been conveyed to Imran Khan by the new military establishment that he better behave in a more civil manner, eschew unparliamentary language and curtail frequent press appearances to sustain his narrative of unfair ouster and conspiracy, which has started to wear thin.
(Rana Banerji was Special Secretary (Retd.) in the Cabinet Secretariat. Views expressed are personal and exclusive to India Narrative)
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
The PTI chief also noted that the country was passing through a critical juncture…reports Asian Lite News
As Pakistan faces a myriad of challenges like skyrocketing inflation, unemployment, depleting foreign exchange reserves and shortage of essential commodities, former Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that the country could slide into Sri Lanka-like situation if “free and fair” elections were not held by the incumbent government.
The PTI chief also noted that the country was passing through a critical juncture, The Express Tribune reported.
“Pakistan is not in a position to bear any delay in elections. Any compromise on the transparency of elections or political engineering will be tantamount to enmity with the nation,” he said.
“Only elections can prevent Pakistan’s slide into Sri Lanka-like situation.”
Khan held incumbent Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for the continuing economic meltdown and observed that “voices of split could be heard with the (ruling) PML-N”.
The PTI chief observed that the PDM-led coalition government had failed on all the fronts, alleging that it was using the people’s resources for its personal gain, The Express Tribune reported.
“Only the PTI government can save the country from crises,” he said.
Khan clarified that the PTI was not mulling over any option to lodge protests on streets if the date for the general elections was not announced.
Last year, Sri Lanka’s economy had collapsed, schools were shut down indefinitely and critical shortage of essential items was witnessed as the country had failed to repay its debts.
How Imran Khan and Pervaiz Elahi have politically outsmarted Nawaz and his party’s calculations came as a bitter surprise for the Leaguers.
After having received serious political blows, one after the other, from Imran Khan in Punjab province during the last two consecutive days, the PML-N London is considering coming back to Pakistan before it is too late, the media reported.
For some in the party, it is already too late and now there is not much that can be done because of the irreparable political cost that the PML-N has to pay because of its early last year decision of removing the Imran Khan government and coming into power, The News reported.
For the bad luck of the N-League, Shehbaz Sharif-led PDM government is also not performing and the issues like worsening economic conditions and price hike are contributing to further unpopularity of the party.
“We had thought that through our good governance and economic turnaround, the PMLN would get its popularity back but that is happening mainly because of growing financial challenges and price hike,” a senior PMLN leader said.
Imran Khan at PTI Azadi March (Twitter)
The party sources admit that ever since the removal of the Imran Khan government, the popularity of the PML-N is on decline whereas PTI is going up and up, The News reported.
The last two days, it is said, were shocking for the PML-N and its top leadership.
How Imran Khan and Pervaiz Elahi have politically outsmarted Nawaz and his party’s calculations came as a bitter surprise for the Leaguers.
Nawaz and Maryam, both of whom are in London, were assured that neither Pervaiz Elahi has a majority to get a vote of confidence nor there is any chance of the provincial assembly’s dissolution.
To their utter disappointment, Imran Khan succeeded on both counts.
While the PML-N top leadership in London was not over with the shock of a successful vote of confidence by Pervaiz Elahi, it got another shock the very next day when the latter signed the advice for the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly.
According to a report following the Wednesday night events, Nawaz had reportedly conveyed his anger to the party’s Punjab leadership and had directed it to ensure the Punjab Assembly is not dissolved. It could not be prevented either.
Maryam Nawaz was already planning to come back mid-February but after the PML-N having been seriously jolted by Imran Khan’s moves in Punjab, the London leadership is reconsidering their plan.
Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif (Photo Courtesy Twitter@MaryamNSharif)
Now besides Maryam, there is also consideration about the timing of Nawaz Sharif’s return. In case of election date for Punjab, it is said, both may hurriedly rush to Pakistan, The News reported.
Imran Khan’s politics, supported by the failures of the PDM government in Islamabad, it is admitted, has considerably shrunk the political space for the PML-N in Punjab, which has been the party’s stronghold for the last few decades.
“Expecting from Shehbaz Sharif government and the PML-N’s second tier leadership to create space for the top London leadership to come and make the party popular like before is a faulty policy,” a PML-N leader said.
He added that the leadership does not wait for the space to be created by others but it through its own charisma and political moves wins the hearts and minds of the people. For this, it is said, the London leadership has to come to Pakistan.
The PML-N source said that now there is no hurdle in the return of Nawaz Sharif, The News reported.
