Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, facing heat in more than 100 cases, has claimed that he could be killed during court depositions and has requested the chief justice to allow him to appear virtually. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman alleged on Monday that a “death trap” was laid out at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC), where he arrived on Saturday to attend a hearing in the Toshakhana case.
The cricketer-turned-politician went on to claim that “na maloom afraad” (unknown people) were stationed outside to kill him, The Dawn reported. The embattled PTI chief in a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial requested to club the cases registered against him.
Imran Khan was in the crosshairs for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana and selling them for profit.
He was also disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan for not revealing the details of the case. The election body later filed a complaint with the district court to punish him under criminal laws but Khan has skipped several court summons in the case.
Last Saturday, when Khan went to Islamabad high court for hearing in the Toshakhana case, high drama was witnessed outside the court. His arrest warrant was cancelled after ADSJ Zafar Iqbal allowed him to leave after marking his attendance at the court, due to clashes between Islamabad Police and PTI workers outside the judicial complex.
Imran Khan has also been booked in close to 100 cases facing charges like terrorism, murder, blasphemy, attempted murder and treason.
‘DEATH TRAP WAS LAID’
“A death trap was laid out at the Federal Judicial Complex, Islamabad on Saturday last where I had to attend a hearing in the Toshakhana gifts case. Some 20 namaloom afraad (unknown people) — a reference to intelligence agencies men — were present in the complex to kill me,” Khan said during an address to the nation on Monday.
Shortly I will expose how I almost walked into a death trap & the plot to kill me in the Judicial Complex; and how Almighty Allah saved me in the nick of time.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 20, 2023
“It wasn’t [to put me in] jail but to kill [me]. If I keep being exposed like this then it won’t take too long, they will be successful and then who will be responsible?”, he said.
During the address, he also played a video which showed the purported suspects in civil clothes present in the judicial complex carrying plastic handcuffs, reported news agency PTI. He alleged these men planned to strangulate Khan with the rope they were holding.
میں جب پیشی پر گیا وہاں پر موجود نامعلوم افراد نے اچانک سے میری گاڑی کے اوپر پتھراو اور شیلنگ شروع کردی، میں یہ سوال پوچھتا ہوں کہ یہ نامعلوم افراد وہاں پر کیسے پہنچے ؟#PakUnderFascism pic.twitter.com/Fow8Wyru7x
— PTI (@PTIofficial) March 21, 2023
Imran Khan has also urged the CJP to investigate how these 20 or so “unknown people” managed to enter the high security zone (judicial complex).
Continuing his tirade against the Shehbaz-Shariff government, Khan claimed, “Attempts are being made to pit my party against the army and at the same time the PMLN-led coalition government is trying its best to turn the army against me and PTI.”
CLASH BETWEEN PTI WORKERS, COPS
Clashes have broken out PTI supporters and workers and law-enforcement agencies in Lahore and Islamabad during court appearances and attempts to arrest Imran Khan over the past one week.
Scores of PTI workers and policemen have been injured in these clashes. Police have arrested more than 300 PTI workers from Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad and slapped terrorism charges on them.
All these cases have been instituted against Khan during the last 11 months when the PMLN-led government came to power after ousting him through a vote of no confidence.
