Plan hatched to ‘murder me’, Imran tells LHC

LAHORE:

 

Former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday apprised the Lahore High Court that a third plan to murder him had been hatched, saying that he had already predicted an assassination attempt on his life and everyone saw what happed in Wazirabad.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman was shot and injured during a rally in Wazirabad on Nov 3 last year.

The LHC larger bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, heard Imran’s plea seeking direction to quarters concerned to declare that misuse of law to register criminal cases amounts to violation of the contours of Section 154 of the CrPC 1898. However, the court turned down the plea.

As the proceedings commenced, Imran’s counsel Barrister Salman Safdar requested the court to stop the practice registration of false FIRs.

Justice Aalia Neelum asked about the specific FIRs.

Barrister Salman said, “We can appear anywhere but the police must tell us in which FIRs actually the petitioner is required to them.”

He argued that the FIRs of the same nature had been registered, adding that they had obtained bails in some of them while some had been quashed. “No such material is available to establish those sections under which the FIRs had been registered.” In most cases, he added, the complainants were police officials instead of the victims.

He cited the murders of journalist Arshad Sharif and Ali Bilal, popularly known as Zille Shah’s as well as the attack on Imran in Wazirabad, arguing that the police officials were made complainants in these cases despite the fact that the victim and the deceased families, eye witnesses, injured people were present.

“All of this shows the vested interest of the federal government as well as the caretaker Punjab set-up.”

Barrister Salman also quoted another FIR that was registered against 2,500 unidentified people in which Imran was nominated. “The police only tried to arrest Imran Khan and not others for reasons best known to them.”

He pleaded the court to examine the quality of the cases.

Justice Najafi remarked that let the report come about the status of the investigation.

The bench directed Imran to join the investigation into the cases registered against him by either sitting with the quarters concerned to decide whether he would appear before the investigation team or it would visit him at his Zaman Park residence.

Justice Najafi directed law officer Ghulam Sarwar Nehang to update the court about the current status of the investigations as well as the FIRs registered against Imran by May 8.

Imran took to the rostrum and told the court that he had earlier predicted an association attempt on his life and everyone saw what happened in Wazirabad.
The second attack was to be carried out at the Islamabad Judicial Complex but he remained lucky.

And now “I am bringing into the notice of this court that I will be murdered,” adding that “a plan to assassinate me has been designed”.

He named “Gen Faisal Naseer as the person behind the whole game”.

He apprised the bench that when he reached the judicial complex, he saw that the agencies had taken control, but luckily, he remained saved.

Justice Najafi remarked, “As far as your security matter is concerned, the court will look into the matter whenever any plea is filed. Your counsel informed that the LHC had passed an order about your security so you should go for compliance of that order.”

Separately, an anti-terrorism court on Tuesday extended the interim bail of the accused in the judicial complex vandalism case against Imran and other PTI leaders till May 17.