Imran will be arrested by 'own' security after bail expiration: Sana

Interior minister says dozens of cases registered against PTI chief over alleged rioting during long march

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Sunday said that former prime minister Imran Khan was still being provided with security as per the law by the federal government after his return to Bani Gala from Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

ملک میں فساد فی العرض برپا کرنے والا وہ شخص جو اخلاقی اورجمہوری قدروں سے یکسرعاری ہو اوراپنے مخالفین کو کبھی غداراور یزیدکہه کر پکارتا ہوا؛ کس طرح ایک جمہوری معاشرے میں ایک سیاسی جماعت کا سربراہ ہوسکتا ہے؟

یہ پوری قوم کیلئے ایک لمحہ فکریہ ہے۔

— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@PresPMLNPunjab) June 5, 2022

Sana, in a series of tweets, said that the security personnel deployed to protect Imran were still performing their duty. He added that the “same security” would efficiently arrest the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman after the expiration of his bail on June 25.

Sana said there were several cases registered against Imran for allegedly fomenting violence during the long march on May 25. Imran will be arrested as soon as his bail would end, he added.

“A person who instigates mischief in the country, who has complete disregard for moral and democratic values, and who even calls his opponents traitors and Yazid. How can such a person be the head of a political party in a democratic society?” Sanaullah added.

“This is a moment of reflection for the whole nation,” he said while concluding the Twitter thread.

Earlier this week, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted Imran Khan protective bail for three weeks in cases registered against him by the government in light of his ‘Azadi March’.

Cases against Imran

On May 27, Islamabad police filed separate cases against 150 people including PTI Chairman Imran Khan and party leaders Asad Umar, Asad Qaiser among others over allegations of arson and vandalism in the federal capital during the long march on May 25.

Read Judge wants contempt proceedings against Imran

The footage of the Safe City cameras as well as those from private TV news channels had been included in the challans of the cases as evidence.

Two FIRs were registered at Kohsar police station over the complaint of Sub-Inspector Asif Raza and Sub-Inspector Ghulam Sarwar under Sections 109 (abetment), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public service), 188 (disobedience), 353 (assault on public servant), 427 (causing damage) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

In the other FIR, SI Sarwar stated that he and other police officers were on duty at Express Chowk when at 12:30am, around 100-150 PTI protesters, equipped with rods and inflammatory material, chanted slogans, incited people and set fire to the trees and Metro Bus station near Geo Chowk.

The FIR filed on SI Sarwar’s complaint named the PTI chief as well as Asad Umar, Imran Ismail, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Ali Amin Gandapur, Ali Nawaz Awan and other party leaders.