In a statement issued on Sunday night, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) declared to take legal action against the Rangers and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for what it termed as the “kidnapping” of its chairman, Imran Khan, from the Islamabad High Court premises on May 9.
Imran Khan, the former prime minister who was ousted via a no-confidence vote in April last year, was arrested by the Rangers about the Al-Qadir Trust case based on a warrant from the NAB.
The PTI’s central leadership, led by Khan, met on Sunday to discuss the situation. The party leadership condemned the arrest of their leader and called for the formation of a high-powered commission by the Supreme Court to investigate the violence and unrest that ensued following Khan’s arrest.
After Khan’s arrest, violent demonstrations broke out across the country, resulting in the death of at least ten people and injuries to dozens more. Internet services have been suspended across the country ever since.
The party also announced plans to file cases regarding the deaths of unarmed citizens during the protests. The list of those to be named in the FIRs includes Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, the interim chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohsin Raza Naqvi and Azam Khan, respectively, as well as several police officers.
The party further condemned the continuation of the Punjab caretaker government beyond the Supreme Court’s deadline of May 14 for holding elections in the province, labeling it a “murder of the Constitution.”
In its statement, the PTI also expressed concern over the perceived handing over of Islamabad’s Red Zone to the private militia of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) key ally, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). Furthermore, the PTI pledged to resist any attempts by the ruling alliance to intimidate the Supreme Court or prevent it from fulfilling its Constitutional duties.
The party ended its declaration by calling for immediate and transparent general elections as the only solution to the country’s current political and economic crisis.
