Imran fears arrest as he appears before NAB today

PTI chief urges his supporters to remain peaceful in case he is taken into custody

LAHORE:

The PTI chief on Monday expressed his fear of being arrested again, saying that despite the fact that he had obtained bails in cases against him, he might be taken into custody when he appears before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case on Tuesday (today).

Imran made these remarks on his official Twitter handle.

“I have all the bails required, but the situation is such that they can arrest me again,” he claimed.

On May 9, Imran was arrested by Rangers from the Islamabad High Court premises in the Al-Qadir Trust case on the orders of the anti-corruption watchdog.

His arrest sparked nationwide chaos with protesters ransacking government properties and military installations.

The government held the PTI chairman responsible for the protests and arrested hundreds of party supporters and leaders.

The incumbent regime alleged that Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi received land worth millions of dollars as a bribe from a real estate tycoon through the Al-Qadir Trust.

The trust, a non-governmental welfare organisation, was set up by Bushra and Imran in 2018 when the latter served as the premier. The trust runs a university outside Islamabad devoted to spirituality and Islamic teachings.

During the Twitter space on Monday, Imran urged his supporters to remain peaceful in case he was arrested.

“I ask people to remain peaceful because if you get violent, they will get a chance to launch a crackdown again. We have to always protest peacefully.”

Read A strong army guarantees security, unity of country: COAS

He said there “won’t be much of a reaction” if he was arrested again because the “PTI leadership was either in jail or in hiding”.

The former premier stated that he had no conflict with the army and reiterated his primary objective of holding fair and transparent elections in the country.

"I want to clear one thing that I am not fighting my own army. Who does that? There was no conflict with the army before, and there isn't one now," he said. “All I want is that elections are held.”

Drawing parallels, the former premier maintained that censuring army was like “I criticise my children”.

“I would never want our army to get weakened.”

The former premier claimed that “spoilers” during the May 9 protests were behind attacking the army installations, particularly the Lahore corps commander’s residence.

"We have not done it (violent protests), nor has our leadership done it. You have modern gadgets, you can check it.”

He termed the May 9 violence a “pre-planned” act.

“We are convinced that this was pre-planned. They wanted to blame the violence on us and justify the crackdown.”

Read more NA passes resolution against May 9 vandalism by majority vote

He claimed that 25 “unarmed protesters” were shot dead, calling for an independent investigation into the May 9 events.

The former premier said that the entire nation had now pinned hopes on the Supreme Court.

"In my opinion, the Supreme Court will stand tall. It has proven itself to be independent. The military courts and the like, which have undermined fundamental rights, will not succeed. I believe that the judiciary will take a stand. We are fortunate to have such competent judges. I am confident that they will stand firm and prevent any catastrophe from unfolding," he added.

Imran claimed that the PTI was the most popular party in the country, adding that democracy would survive here.

"How will you eliminate a vote bank? The popularity of PTI is above 70 per cent. PTI can even surpass a two-thirds majority if elections are held right now. Do whatever you want, but people know me. They have known the PTI for 27 years. We have never resorted to violence," he maintained.

He termed the Toshakhana (gifts depository) case “an absolute joke”.

The PTI chief suspected that anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan was tortured in custody.

“I fear that he has been tortured so much that they are waiting for his bruises to heal so he can be presented in court.”

Also read: Gen Asim showed Imran proof of his wife's corruption in 2019: Shehbaz

He termed the caretaker Punjab government a “proxy” of the Pakistan Democratic Movement and the military establishment, saying that whenever he got a chance, he would lodge “cases against them and the IGs”.

“The Pakistan Democratic Movement is seeking the establishment’s support because their vote bank has reduced dramatically in the last few years.”

The former premier said that those who had launched a crackdown against the PTI had no understanding of politics and history.

“A political party cannot be eliminated like this … how will you eliminate the vote bank?

“People are not stupid. You cannot stop the truth from coming forward in times of the social media. Will you put millions of people in jail? Are people not seeing what is happening?”

Imran claimed that former COAS General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had reached an understanding with PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and the Sharifs internally after his extension.

"I continued working with him (Bajwa). I tried [till the end] even though I knew he was undermining me.”