ISLAMABAD: Amid the arrests of key aides and desertions by several party members, a defiant former prime minister Imran Khan said on Thursday he wouldn't "back down," as a government deadline to hand over 'terrorists' allegedly hiding at his Lahore home expired, raising the spectre of a raid.
Protests broke out in different parts of the country after Khan was arrested by the country’s anti-graft body on corruption charges on May 9. Many of those involved in the demonstrations set public property on fire and stormed the official residence of a top army general in Lahore.
The province’s interim information minister, Amir Mir, gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the ex-premier to hand over 30-40 alleged militants he said were involved in the attacks or risk a police operation. He added that law enforcement personnel were going to rely on their firearms if they were attacked by the supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Since Wednesday, police have cordoned off all roads leading to the ex-premier's residence.
"Even if I am left alone, I will continue to fight for genuine freedom for this country," Khan told journalists at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore. "No one should even think that I will back down in the face of this pressure."
Khan has tried to distance himself from last week’s protests in his recent statements, saying that his party only believes in non-violent struggle.
He also blamed the country’s powerful security and intelligence setup for infiltrating people among the protesting crowds before indulging in vandalism against government buildings.
As officials gave him the 24-hour ultimatum, Khan said on Wednesday he was willing to cooperate with the police if they came to his residence “with a proper search warrant” to arrest any suspect involved in the protests.
He also asked them not to barge in and create chaos in and around his residence.
Several leaders of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, such as former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Shireen Mazari, Maleeka Bokhari, and Asad Umar have been arrested in recent days.
The former premier has alleged that the widening crackdown against his party is part of the government and Pakistan's powerful military establishment's efforts to thwart his efforts to become prime minister again.
