Treason, terror charges on Imran, Qadri
The Pakistani police on Monday registered treason and terrorism cases against Pakistan Tehrik- e- Insaf ( PTI) chief Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehrik ( PAT) leader Tahir- ulQadri.
“The police have registered a First Information Report ( FIR) against Imran Khan and Tahir- ul- Qadri over the attack on Parliament. The case has been registered on behalf of the government,” said a police official.
Earlier, the advisory meeting of police officers, presided over by inspectorgeneral Khalid Khattak was held in Islamabad. “The meeting decided to lodge an FIR against Imran Khan and Tahir- ul- Qadri for attempting to attack the Parliament. Provisions of treason and terrorism were also added in the FIR,” said the police official.
Reacting to the charges, Imran Khan claimed that the script of the FIR has been written within the premises of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’ s House.
Protesters entered the state- run Pakistan Television ( PTV) building on Monday morning and forced the management to shut down the transmission of PTV News and PTV World. The angry demonstrators also ransacked the office and held staff members hostage.
Following the incident, the Army Rangers were summoned and they helped remove the protesters from the building. The transmission was restored within half- an- hour.
After the shutdown, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed law enforcement agencies to immediately restore the transmission of PTV. He said strict action should be taken against those trying to take law into their own hands.
After the PTV attack, Imran Khan tweeted that the PTI has not stormed the state building. Disowning the act, the PTI chief said that his party activists have been very peaceful throughout the protest.
The protesters also damaged private property, including vehicles of the television channels.
Mr Khan’s party, which is struggling to cope with dissidence, was hit by revelations made by PTI’s president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi who claimed that Mr Khan was following Army diktat in Islamabad.
“Imran Khan told us, ‘ they’ ( the Army) say move forward with Tahirul Qadri”, said Mr Hashmi on Monday. “Imran Khan said we cannot move forward without the Army. He told us that he has settled all the matters, there will be elections in September,” Mr Hashmi said.
However, a military spokesman rejected Mr Hashmi’s statement, saying, “The Army is not backing any party.”
Mr Hashmi said that Mr Khan had lied when he said that only he disapproved of marching towards the Prime Minister’s House. He claimed that the entire core committee of the party had asked Mr Khan not to move forward. “When Imran Khan shared his plan with us, he said that a judge of our choice is coming in Supreme Court”, said Mr Hashmi. He said that Mr Khan had also maligned the top court. “The Supreme Court will expel Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, Imran had told us”, Mr Hashmi said. “Resignations were taken from MNAs ( members of the National Assembly) by force”, said the PTI president, who was expelled from the party by Mr Khan on Sunday.
Mr Hashmi said that he was still the president of the party. He said that Mr Khan did not follow the process laid down in the PTI’s constitution to oust him from the party. “I wish Imran Khan reads PTI constitution”, he added.