ISLAMABAD: The police detail of Imran Khan deployed outside his residence in Islamabad will duly arrest the former prime minister once his bail in over a dozen cases linked to a protest march will expire on June 25, said Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan on Sunday.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman — who has been residing in Peshawar ostensibly to avoid arrest in as many as 14 cases, all linked to his little over day-long march on Islamabad — is expected to return to Islamabad later today.
In a series of tweets, Sanaullah said the security detail deployed outside Khan’s Bani Gala residence would arrest him on the expiry of his protective bail.
“Imran Niazi [sic] has been named in more than two dozen cases registered across the country under charges of rioting, sedition, spreading chaos and armed attacks on the federation,” he tweeted.
وزیر داخلہ رانا ثناءاللّٰہ کا عمران نیازی کی بنی گالہ واپسی کےحوالے سے اہم بیان:
عمران نیازی کواسلام آباد واپسی پرخوش آمدید کہتے ہیں۔ قانون کے مطابق ان کوسکیورٹی فراہم کی جارہی ہے۔
— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@PresPMLNPunjab) June 5, 2022
The “same security” provided to Khan would arrest him with “great enthusiasm” as soon as his bail period ends, the minister added.
The former prime minister is expected to reach Bani Gala in the official helicopter of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister.
He is also expected to summon a meeting of the party’s core committee and take important decisions to decide on the future course of action.
Khan’s decision to return comes days after the Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted him transit bail until June 25 in the cases his party considers politically motivated.
After Khan called off his march, he and members of his party were booked in cases registered at police stations across Islamabad over allegations of arson and vandalism in the capital.
Following the complaints, he petitioned the court through his counsel Babar Awan. He also appeared before the court as Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan took up the petition on Thursday.
The judge approved Khan’s request for bail and subsequently forwarded the orders to an additional sessions judge in Islamabad.
“A person who spreads chaos in the country on a daily basis, who has complete disregard for moral and democratic values and who calls his opponents traitors and Yazidis […] how can he be the head of a political party in a democratic society?” Sanaullah wrote on Twitter, adding this was the “moment of reflection” for the nation.
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
Meanwhile, an Islamabad police spokesperson said the administration has not been informed by Khan’s security team about his arrival. However, the police have nevertheless put in place stringent security arrangements.
The spokesperson further said the police were not provided with the list of people currently present inside the house.
He said a district magistrate imposed section 144 in Islamabad suspending all kinds of gatherings. He, however, said police were ready to deal with any kind of “illegal activity”.
