Investigators grill PTI chairman over May 9 incidents

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan chief faced a barrage of questions as he appeared before two joint investigation teams (JITs) on Sunday.

The investigations were in relation to twelve cases registered at different police stations under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and other laws, according to The News.

The JITs, headed by SSP Yasir Afridi and SP Rukhsar Mehdi, respectively, posed a series of inquiries to thoroughly interrogate Khan. During his statement, the former prime minister categorically stated that he held no animosity towards Pakistan or its national institutions.

He expressed deep respect for the Pakistan Army, martyrs, war heroes, and monuments commemorating their sacrifices. Sources revealed that Khan openly denounced the incident that occurred on May 9 but asserted that neither he nor the PTI workers were involved in the event.

He claimed that it was a conspiracy orchestrated against him and his party. Refusing to accept responsibility for the occurrence, Khan maintained that the government and law enforcement agencies had devised the plot to entrap him and the party in legal complications.

In response to a question, the PTI chief narrated his experience of tyranny from the government when an assassination attempt was made against him on May 25 the previous year. He vehemently rejected the notion that PTI workers were involved in the events of May 9, citing evidence of a conspiracy linked to the incident.

Repeatedly asserting his position, Khan stated, “They are trying to remove me from politics, but they will not succeed in their scheme.”

Imran appeared before the two JITs established under the supervision of DIG (Operations) to investigate the 12 cases lodged against him. His statements were recorded regarding the criminal cases registered against him under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), the ATA and the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

While Khan recorded his statements in seven cases (four registered under ATA offenses with the CTD police and three with different police stations), he declined to respond to questions regarding the remaining five cases, stating that he was not prepared to provide statements on those matters.

Investigators mentioned that the suspects had previously evaded appearing before the JIT for investigations.

The sources disclosed that twelve notices were served on the former prime minister, including seven issued by the CTD and six by the JIT, but he did not respond to any of them.

However, two final notices were served to him with a warning that legal action would be taken if he failed to appear at the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Complex in G/11-4 on July 9 at 2:00 pm.