Islamabad Police along with their Punjab Police counterparts on Sunday reached PTI chairman Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore to take him into custody for his persistent absences from Toshakhana court hearings.
The 70-year-old former prime minister, who has been recovering from a gunshot injury from an assassination attempt in Wazirabad last year, has thrice skipped indictment hearings in an Islamabad sessions court in the case.
Imran is accused of allegedly concealing, in his assets declarations, details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana — a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept. Officials are legally allowed to retain gifts provided they pay a pre-assessed amount, typically a fraction of the value of the gift.
In a series of tweets today, the Islamabad Police said an operation to arrest Imran was being conducted with the cooperation of the Lahore police.
It stated that the PTI chief was “avoiding” the arrest, adding that the superintendent of police had “gone into Imran’s room but he was not present there”.
“Legal action will be taken against those obstructing the execution of court orders,” the police added.
Meanwhile, footage on television show police officials in Islamabad Police uniform as well as Punjab Police being held back by PTI workers outside the Zaman Park residence.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal on Feb 28, issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the PTI chief when he failed to appear in person for the indictment. Imran had four in-person court hearings that day, and managed to secure bail in three of the four cases.
The warrant, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, stated that Imran had repetitively failed to appear before the court. “The accused is making a pick and choose for courts and cases and this case is not included in his priority.”
“The accused be summoned through a non-bailable warrant of arrest for March 7,” it added.
Fawad warns of country-wide protests if ‘red line’ crossed
In a press conference outside Imran’s residence, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the Islamabad Police had arrived at the ex-premier’s residence to execute his arrest in the Toshakhana case.
“There are 74 cases against Imran. It is humanly not possible for any person to appear in court in all these cases,” he said, claiming that Imran’s arrest was aimed at postponing the upcoming general elections in Punjab.
Fawad stated that Imran had always respected the judiciary and appeared before courts whenever he was called. “But they want Imran Khan to go to court so that terrorists can target him again.”
He then called on party workers across the country to prepare. “If they cross the red line, there will be a protest that Pakistan has never seen before,” Fawad added.
On the other hand, PTI vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi asked supporters not to panic.
“The notice [presented by the police] does not have any arrest orders. Imran Khan and our legal team will hold a meeting at 2:30pm and then announce our plan of action,” he stated.
The party, Qureshi went on to say, will follow the legal process in this regard.
“We are a political party and we will have a political approach to this situation as well. You need to not worry but stay cautioned. We will meet Imran Khan right now,” he added.
In response to a question, Qureshi said that the only concern the party had was related to Imran’s security.
Toshakhana Reference
Imran was set to be indicted in the Toshakhana Reference on Feb 28, but his lawyer had requested ADSJ Iqbal that he be exempted from the hearing because he had to appear in several other courts. His indictment was deferred twice before.
The judge had then issued arrest warrants for Imran and adjourned the hearing till March 7.
The reference, which alleges that Imran had not shared details of the gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana (during his time as the prime minister) and proceeds from their reported sales, was filed by lawmakers from the ruling coalition last year. On October 21, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had concluded that the former premier had indeed made “false statements and incorrect declarations” regarding the gifts.
The Toshakhana is a department under the Cabinet Division that stores gifts given to rulers and government officials by heads of other governments and foreign dignitaries. According to Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.
The watchdog’s order had said Imran stood disqualified under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.
Subsequently, the ECP had approached the Islamabad sessions court with a copy of the reference, seeking proceedings against Imran under criminal law for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the prime minister.
More to follow
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