ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan said on Friday he refused to let police search his Zaman Park residence in the eastern Lahore city after the provincial administration of Punjab said dozens of suspects who indulged in violent protests and torched government buildings recently were hiding in his home.

Khan issued the statement while addressing journalists gathered at his residence after the Punjab government sent its team to discuss the overall procedure related to the search operation with the ex-premier.

The interim information minister of Punjab, Amir Mir, said on Wednesday that “30 to 40 terrorists” responsible for recent attacks on military properties were hiding at Khan’s residence.

The former prime minister’s May 9 arrest in a land fraud case sparked violent protests across the country that killed at least eight people, with thousands of the opposition politician’s supporters attacking and setting fire to scores of government and public buildings, including the official residence of a top army general.

“They first said there were terrorists [here], but then they called them wanted men,” Khan said while addressing the media.

He pointed out the government had already detained much of the leadership of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party along with thousands of its supporters, adding his followers were viewed as “wanted” individuals by the current administration.

“I told them to come in and see if there were any wanted men,” he continued. “But they insisted on searching my home which I refused.”

Khan said he was willing to allow the authorities to search his residence if they followed the procedure laid out by the Lahore High Court that said one person would come from the government side while another representing the ex-PM would also be there.

He informed the court also made the presence of a female police official during the process mandatory.

The former prime minister said he did not trust the authorities, saying they claimed to have found weapons from his residence after storming it to arrest him earlier this year.

The Punjab police have already said they arrested over a dozen individuals involved in the recent protests while they were trying to escape Khan’s Zaman Park residence. The government also said its team shared ample evidence with the ex-premier about the suspects involved in violence.

Khan said during his media interaction that he and his other party leaders had condemned all the vandalism that followed his arrest earlier this month.

“If they give us evidence that people belonging to our party were involved in violence, we will help them arrest all those individuals,” he continued.

The Punjab government has already said it does not want to arrest Khan who secured a blanket bail from the Islamabad High Court until the end of the month.

Earlier, the PTI said it had cooperated with the government team that arrived with the search warrant, adding it had left “fully satisfied.”

However, the government maintained there was still a “deadlock” over how to search the former prime minister’s residence.