Terror outfit planning to target Imran during electioneering: report

A classified report by the Ministry of Defence has revealed that a banned terrorist outfit is planning to target former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and other high-profile political personalities in the country, Express News reported on Sunday.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Defence submitted its report to the Supreme Court in the Punjab polls delay case wherein it stated that India’s top spy agency had planned to exploit the country's fault lines to hurt the federation of Pakistan if elections at the Punjab Assembly are held prior to elections for the national legislature and other provincial assemblies.

“RAW [Research and Analysis Wing] has identified fault lines to hurt the federation of Pakistan especially [by fanning] ethnic issues, water disputes, [the alleged] resource capture and monopoly of Punjab and, as terrorists say in Balochistan, the colonisation by Punjab. Therefore, holding of general elections of the Punjab Assembly would fuel the situation,” the ministry said in the report submitted to the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Also read: RAW may exploit fault lines in Pakistan

However, classified parts of the report came to the fore earlier today which revealed that, besides Imran Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah may also be targeted by hostile elements to sabotage peace in the country.

According to the report, the banned organisation can attack Imran Khan during public rallies or movement by “malicious religious fanatics”.

It added that the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or foreign-sponsored banned organisations may target the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP).