Imran Khan says arrest bid aimed to jail him before elections

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Friday said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government wanted to imprison him as they can’t compete with him in polls due to his popularity, ARY News reported.

In an interview with France 24, Imran Khan confirmed that he will attend the court hearing on March 18, adding that they [coalition government] wanted to imprison him before the elections scheduled on April 30 as they are scared that they will lose by-polls against his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

While answering a question, the PTI chief said that the authorities made his home a battlefield. He claimed that “No political leader has ever suffered this sort of attack.”

Imran Khan told the international media that he has 85 court cases pending against him, including sedition, and terrorism.

He said that the level of victimisation going on in this country is ‘unprecedented,’ adding that the main reason is they [ruling government] don’t want him to compete in the elections.

READ: ISLAMABAD COURT TO BE SEALED DURING IMRAN KHAN’S APPEARANCE

Imran Khan said that the party workers are fighting against his arrest because of the fear that if he fallen into the hands of these people, they will try to kill him.

Earlier in the day, Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered PTI chairman Imran Khan to appear before it by 5:30 pm as the former premier seeks protective bail in multiple cases including Toshakhana reference.

LHC Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued directives on pleas filed by former premier seeking protective bail in nine different cases registered against him.

Khan is facing five cases in Islamabad and four in Punjab’s capital of Lahore.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Farooq Haider, is hearing Imran’s pleas for bail in four cases that include terrorism charges. The request for bail in five cases will be heard by a single-member bench of Justice Sheikh.