Daily Times

Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir said Wednesday night that the provincial government has no plans so far of arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

“First let the 24-hour deadline expire then the government will reveal its plans,” the provincial minister said during an interview to a private TV channel.

The deadline expires at 2pm on Thursday and no action would be taken at Khan’s Zaman Park residence before that, the information said, after the PTI chief expressed fears that he would be arrested.

Earlier in the day, Mir said that 30 to 40 protestors who attacked army installations on May 9, after the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, were present inside Zaman Park – the former premier’s residence – and asked the party leadership to hand them over to the law within 24hours.

During a press conference, the minister stated that Imran had been insulting the army and its leadership for a year and the PTI was posing as a “non-state element”. He maintained that it seemed that there was no law in the country for Imran.

According to Mir, workers of the former ruling party damaged government properties and thus, strict action will be taken against those involved in the attacks. He added that during the attack on Jinnah House, “miscreants” were in touch with Zaman Park. He further stated that it was decided that these “terrorists” will be tried in a military court.

“Probably my last tweet before my next arrest. Police has [sic] surrounded my house,” the PTI chief – who was ousted as the prime minister last year in April – said in a tweet following Mir’s press conference. Mir later told a TV channel that Khan is inciting people, “just like always”. The information minister said the PTI chief was “lying”. The minister added that the police will not “be conducting an operation” and it has evidence that 30-40 “terrorists” – who were involved in the attacks on the military installations on May 9 – are present at Zaman Park.

“It is possible that Khan sahab might ask those people to leave Zaman Park. When they do, we will arrest them,” he said, adding that all agencies, in their report, have noted that the “terrorists” are present at Khan’s residence.

Meanwhile, the PTI chief allowed media access to his residence. “The reason behind allowing the media to have a look at his residence is to show them the people over there,” the reporter said, noting that the information minister’s claim that several terrorists were inside the residence could not be corroborated. He added that several PTI workers have also arrived at Zaman Park after the information minister’s warning that an “operation” would be launched after 24 hours. Malik added that security has been tightened at Zaman Park, with only people whose names have been approved being allowed inside the house. He added that the authorities have cordoned off the areas leading up to Zaman Park and workers cannot even reach the residence if they were on bikes. Since the police have curbed the movement, the resistance that was seen last time isn’t expected this time, he added.