The interim government in Pakistan's Punjab province on May 17 claimed that some '30 to 40' terrorists are hiding at the Lahore residence of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, giving him an ultimatum of 24 hours to hand them over or face stern action.
Addressing a press conference, caretaker minister Amir Mir said, “PTI should hand over these terrorists or the law will take its course. The intelligence report that has come is very alarming." The minister added that the presence of terrorists at Imran Khan's Zaman Park residence was confirmed by credible intelligence.
The arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9 by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers at the IHC premises triggered unrest in Pakistan. For the first time in Pakistan's history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched a corps commander's house in Lahore.
Meanwhile, Khan has warned that Pakistan is heading towards an imminent disaster and it may face disintegration, and accused the ruling coalition of hatching a conspiracy to pit the army against his party.
In a video-link address from his Zaman Park residence, the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief said the only solution to end political instability was to hold elections.
Strongly reacting to the Punjab government’s claim that some 40 terrorists are hiding at his Zaman Park residence, Khan said the government must search the house in a lawful manner after obtaining a search warrant because his own life was also in danger in the presence of terrorists. “But don’t make this an excuse to launch a crackdown on the country’s largest political party PTI,” he said.
Following his video-link address, Khan allowed the electronic and digital media representatives access to his residence to see for themselves that there were no terrorists inside Zaman Park. The media persons, who visited the house, later reported that there were only domestic workers and some policemen inside the house.
(With inputs from PTI)
