In a video message on Twitter, Imran said police had arrived at Zaman Park to arrest him. “They think that after I am arrested, the nation will fall asleep. You have to prove them wrong,” he said. The PTI chairman said everyone should come out of their homes for their rights and “haqeeqi azaadi” (true freedom). “If something happens to me and I am sent to jail or if I am killed, you have to prove that you will struggle without Imran Khan and not accept the slavery of these thieves and of the one person who has been making decisions for the country,” said the former premier, who has continued his confrontational rhetoric against the establishment since his ouster in April last year. In an interview to Sky and Al Jazeera later in the evening, Imran said that he was “mentally prepared” for his arrest.
“There is a huge [police] force outside – not just the police but they’ve got the Rangers there too which is the army. It seems as if Pakistan’s biggest terrorist is holed up inside,” he added. He alleged that the government wanted him out of the election race since it was “petrified” of his party’s popularity. “According to all opinion polls, we will sweep the upcoming polls and that is why they want me removed from the scene.”
PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry also asked PTI supporters to gather in the streets in a show of solidarity with Imran.
He said the chief justice should take suo motu notice of the entire situation and “stop the police operation”.
PTI leader Hammad Azhar said there were “thousands” of PTI loyalists outside Zaman Park, whom he described as “emotional, charged … and angry”.
“Police is using disproportionate force over a warrant issued in a frivolous and false case. Half of Lahore is in a state of curfew. The regime’s decision making is driven by panic,” he tweeted.
