by Press Trust of IndiaPakistan’s former Prime Minister’s Chief Security Officer said on Friday that the Punjab Police, carrying out a search operation to arrest terrorists allegedly hiding at Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence, returned with only water and biscuits.
A delegation of Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa, Lahore Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider, DIG Operations Sadiq Dogar and SSP Operations Sohaib met Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party Chairman Khan for talks. Dawn newspaper.
The move comes hours after the Punjab Police obtained a warrant to conduct detailed searches at Khan’s residence.
The Dawn newspaper reported that according to the Punjab Police’s statement, the search would involve a thorough checking of both the entry and exit points of the residence, with the main objective being to find “terrorists” hiding at the place.
However, Iftikhar Ghuman, Khan’s chief security officer, said that the Punjab Police had returned “empty-handed” from Zaman Park, the report said.
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Speaking to reporters outside Khan’s residence, Ghuman said, “I think they have understood that there is nothing here. They only got water and biscuits here.”
“We opened the doors of the house for them in front of you. Now you ask them what they got.”
On Wednesday, the Punjab government claimed that “30 to 40 terrorists were hiding inside Khan’s residence,” and gave his party a 24-hour ultimatum to hand over the miscreants.
However, no action was taken after the deadline expired on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Bilal Saddiqui Kamyana claimed to have arrested six more “terrorists” who were trying to escape from Khan’s Zaman Park residence.
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Khan was on Friday granted pre-arrest bail till June 2 by an anti-terrorism court here in three terrorism cases filed against him in the wake of violence that broke out after his arrest on May 9.
Khan said in a video-link address from his Zaman Park residence here on Wednesday that Pakistan was heading towards an imminent disaster and may face disintegration. On 9 May, Khan was arrested by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers at the Islamabad High Court compound, leading to unrest in Pakistan.
For the first time in Pakistan’s history, protesters stormed the Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and set ablaze a corps commander’s house in Lahore.
Police put the death toll in the violent clashes at 10, while Khan’s party claimed 40 of its workers were killed in firing by security personnel.
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On Monday, top military officials vowed to bring to justice the arsonists who attacked civilian and military installations through trials under the country’s relevant laws, including the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.
Law enforcement agencies have arrested over 7,000 PTI activists across Pakistan, of which 4,000 are from Punjab.
Meanwhile, the Lahore police claimed to have arrested 14 “terrorists” who were trying to escape from Khan’s Zaman Park residence.
Cricketer-turned-politician Khan was ousted from power in April last year after he lost a vote of no confidence in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia. was part of. , China and Afghanistan.