Pakistani court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Imran Khan over May 9 violence

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• Jun 21, 2023 | Dhupali Das

A Pakistani court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Imran Khan on...

Digital Desk: A Pakistani court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Imran Khan on two cases related to arson attacks during the May 9 violence that erupted after his arrest in a corruption case.

 Lahore police on May 10 lodged two FIRs against Khan and other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders on charges of attacking and burning a ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party office and a container.

"Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore judge Abher Gul Khan issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan and six other leaders of his party in two cases of arson attacks," a court official told PTI.

He stated that police may arrest the former cricketer-turned-politician and produce him before the court in those cases.

A source in the Punjab government informed PTI that despite the issuance of arrest warrants for the former premier, no order has yet been received from "top" (a reference to the influential military establishment) to apprehend him.

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Other PTI leaders with non-bailable arrest warrants include Khan's nephew Hassaan Niazi, former federal ministers Hammad Azhar, Murad Saeed, and Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, and former provincial cabinet members Musarrat Cheema and Mian Aslam Iqbal.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Khan questioned why no investigation of attacks on military and state installations had been conducted.

"The question that needs to be asked is how come there has been no investigation so far into 16 unarmed protesters confirmed shot dead by our security forces (while no policeman was injured by any bullets)," he said.

"Three of the unarmed protesters had to have their legs amputated due to bullet wounds, while nine others who are suspected to have died, we have no news as their relatives are either underground or too afraid of the police to speak out," Khan added.

The 70-year-old PTI leader added that in a society where the rule of law prevails, a comprehensive investigation would have been conducted by now and the government would have been held accountable.

"There has been no independent investigation even into the arson attack that took place on May 9 as the government is busy using that as a reason to dismantle Pakistan's largest political party," he asserted.

Following Khan's arrest by paramilitary personnel on May 9 inside the Islamabad High Court, widespread rioting broke out throughout Pakistan. Later, he was released on bail.

During the violent protests that followed Khan's arrest, over 20 military installations and state buildings were damaged or burned, including the military headquarters in Rawalpindi.

According to the PTI, law enforcement agencies arrested over 10,000 party workers across Pakistan, the majority of them were from Punjab.

Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, was ousted after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he said was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him for his independent foreign policy towards Russia, China, and Afghanistan.