- Tuesday, June 06, 2023
By: Kimberly Rodrigues
On Sunday (19), Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, declared his determination to pursue legal action against all officers who participated in the raid on his Zaman Park home in Lahore.
During the search operation, which resulted in the brutal beating of his party workers, over 10,000 armed Punjab police personnel arrested numerous supporters while Khan was in Islamabad to attend a court hearing on Saturday (18).
The police claimed to have discovered weapons and petrol bombs at Khan’s residence.
Late on Saturday night, supporters of Khan were able to seize control of his residence when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman returned from Islamabad after attending the Toshakhana case hearing.
In a statement to the nation on Sunday, Khan declared his intention to pursue legal action against the Punjab police, including every officer who participated in the assault on his home.
The Punjab police utilised heavy machinery to forcefully enter Khan’s residence, where his wife, Bushra Bibi, was present during the raid.
The 70-year-old former prime minister addressed the nation and called upon the police, army officers, judges, and citizens to consider the importance of respecting the concepts of “chadar and char diwari” (veil and walls) in Islam, as he reflected on the intrusion on his home.
He accused the Punjab IG of disregarding the Lahore High Court’s orders by referring to an anti-terrorism court for a search warrant, despite a high court judge already setting out the search procedure for his residence.
Later, the PTI sent a letter to the Punjab chief secretary asking for a case to be filed against PML-N chief Maryam Nawaz, Mohsin Naqvi, the Punjab IG, the Lahore Capital City Police Officer, and 18 other police officers for the attack and robbery at Zaman Park.
Additionally, the PTI requested a judicial commission to investigate the Zaman Park operation and the death of PTI worker Ali Bilal.
The government is considering the possibility of initiating a ban on Khan’s party, according to Interior Minister Rana Sanuallah, who added that the government will consult its legal team on this matter.
