Imran Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), hours before he was scheduled to appear before a court had issued arrest warrants for him, said that his party had formed a committee to take over if he were to be detained.
After being removed from office last year, the former prime minister organized nationwide rallies and was the target of numerous legal proceedings. On Tuesday, the police made an unsuccessful attempt to arrest him, which resulted in violent altercations with members of his party.
“I have made a committee which will obviously take decisions once – if – I’m inside” jail, the 70-year-old said in an interview in his Lahore home before heading to Islamabad early on Saturday. He said there were 94 cases against him.
Imran Khan was shot and wounded while campaigning in November. He claims that the threat to his life is greater than it was before, and he also claims that the establishment and his political rivals want to prevent him from running in the elections that will take place later this year.
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Since he was granted bail in each of his cases, Imran claimed there was no justification for his current incarceration. The PTI Chairman might be barred from running in the November elections if found guilty in a case.
“The establishment right now somehow feels threatened by me. And that is the issue,” he said.
The police attempt to arrest Imran led to clashes in which dozens of people were injured.
“My life is even more at threat than it was then,” he said, adding that he was worried about the reaction to his arrest or any attempt to assassinate him. “I feel that there would be a very strong reaction, and it would be a reaction all over Pakistan.”
“I just think that those who are trying to do this just cannot comprehend the situation. Unfortunately, the mind that is thinking of either killing me or putting me in jail, I don’t think they comprehend where Pakistan is situated right now.”
Imran Khan stated that after his relationships with the former army head, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retired in November, deteriorated, the military played a part in forcing him from office. He claimed that the new chief maintained the same approach.