With police personnel at his gates to arrest him, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the public struggle should continue even without him.
Supporters of Imran Khan have clashed with police personnel who arrived at his Lahore residence to arrest him in the Toshakhana case.
With police personnel at his gates to arrest him, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the public struggle should continue even without him.
In a video statement shared on Twitter, Khan said that he has struggled for Pakistanis all his life and he will struggle in the future as well but Pakistanis should also prove that the struggle would continue even if he is imprisoned or killed.
Last year in November, Khan was injured in shooting in Pakistani Punjab's Wazirabad. At a rally, gunmen fired at him and he suffered gunshot injuries. Later, he alleged that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Sanaullah Khan, and Major General Faisal Sharif were behind the alleged assassination attempt.
"Police has come out to arrest me and put me in jail. They think the nation will sleep when Imran Khan is jailed. You have to prove them wrong. You have to show the nation is alive," said Khan in Urdu in the video.
After putting in religious rhetoric, Khan further said, "You have to fight for your rights and true freedom. You have to get out. Allah has given everything to Imran Khan. I am fighting your war. I have fought my whole life and I will keep fighting. But if something happens to me, if I am arrested or if they kill me, then you have to prove that the nation will struggle even without Imran Khan and will reject this slavery of these thieves."
Taking an apparent aim at PM Sharif, Imran further said, "This one person who is taking all the decisions of the country, you will have to prove you will never accept them. Pakistan Zindabad."
Police on Tuesday arrived at Khan's residence in Lahore to arrest him in Toshakhana case. A large number of supporters of Khan clashed with police personnel in reiot gear. Videos of supporters confronting the police with sticks surfaced on the internet and Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party also shared visuals of injured on Twitter.
The "Toshakhana" is a department that is in charge of valuable gifts received by government officials. It's alleged that former PM and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief Khan did not disclose gifts presented to Toshakhana and that there were irregularities in sale of some of these gifts.
The police blocked all roads leading to Khan's house by placing containers and riot personnel took positions to launch the operation. Khan currently has at least 81 cases against him.
Earlier on Tuesday, an Islamabad court suspended till March 16 a non-bailable arrest warrant against Khan in a case for threatening a woman magistrate at a rally last year.
In clashes with Khan's supporters, fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse them. Visuals of the clashes surfaced on the internet.