New Delhi: For months the Pakistan government has been dithering over arresting Imran Khan, but a dare by the former prime minister may have tipped the scales against him. Hours before his arrest by Pakistani Rangers on Tuesday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) shared a video on his Twitter handle calling out the Pakistan army, and asking them to arrest him if they had a warrant.
My reply to ISPR & attempts by PDM & their handlers to arrest me for two reasons: 1. To prevent me from campaigning bec InshaAllah when elections are announced I will be doing jalsas. 2. To prevent me from mobilising the masses for street movement in support of Constitution if… pic.twitter.com/IQIQmFERah
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 9, 2023
“If someone has a warrant, they should directly bring it to me. Bring the warrant, my lawyer will be there. I’m ready to go to jail myself.” the PTI chief said.
In a roughly 6-minute video addressed to the Inter-Services Public Relations’ (ISPR) and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Khan rejected allegations of maligning the country’s military. He said that he has no reason to lie. He had previously accused Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer General Faisal Naseer of attempting to kill him twice at a Lahore rally Sunday.
“It is my army, my Pakistan not just yours. It is our army,” Khan said while rueing the crackdown against anti-military voices in the country, calling it harmful for the establishment.
Imran Khan vs Pakistan army
He reiterated his claim on Tuesday after ISPR refuted his allegations, “This man tried to kill me twice and whenever an investigation is carried out, I will prove that it was this man and there is a whole gang with him.”
ISPR Director-General Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Monday accused Khan of making ‘highly irresponsible and baseless allegations against a serving senior military officer without any evidence’.
In the video shared on Twitter, Khan pointed out two reasons behind attempts to arrest him—to stop him from campaigning during elections and ‘from mobilising the masses for street movement in support of the Constitution.’
He made these remarks hours before he was scheduled to appear before the Islamabad High Court in a mutiny case and another on attempted murder charges.
The cricketer-turned-politician emphasised that he was leading Pakistan’s ‘largest political party’ while questioning why he is being denied his fundamental right.
“My question is: [Despite being] a country’s ex-prime minister — because this man’s name has come forward — [why was] I unable to register a first information report (FIR)?” he asked.
He further added that only an investigation can reveal the truth. “If he was innocent, it would have been revealed”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif also placed four counter questions before Imran Khan. They ranged from his accusations against the Pakistan army, hurling baseless claims to using religion for political purposes.
I have no doubt that your politics is defined by blatant lies, untruths, U-turns, and vicious attacks on institutions. Bending the judiciary to your whims and behaving as if rules don’t apply to you. What I said about you in my tweet is established by facts over the past few… https://t.co/SEi3HRj19m
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 9, 2023
This statement joins a series of clashes between the former PM and the Pakistan army, in a relationship that has been deteriorating since March last year.