The former Pakistani prime minister Imran has been called in for questioning by a joint investigation team (JIT), which the caretaker government of Punjab province established to look into the arson attacks on the Pakistan Corps Commander’s House and the Askari Corporate Tower in Lahore on May 9.The JIT headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Kamran Adil has asked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman to appear before the probe body at Qila Gujjar Singh investigation headquarters at 4 pm on May 30. According to sources privy to the matter, the JIT will question Imran Khan in connection with the May 9 riots. The Punjab Home Department has formed 10 different joint investigation teams (JITs) to carry out an investigation into the attacks and violent protests on May 9. PTI chairman Imran Khan was nominated in several FIRs lodged at different police stations in the province, Geo News reported citing sources. The JIT headed by Kamran Adil comprises the Superintendent Police (SP) Investigation City Division Lahore Dr Raza Tanveer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)/SP-AVLS Lahore Raza Zahid, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Taimoor Khan and Factory Area Police Station in-charge investigation Muhammad Sarwar.Protests erupted in Pakistan after the arrest of Imran Khan on May 9. After the protests, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders exodus started, as security forces began a crackdown against the party after the attacks on civil and military institutions, including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Lahore Corps Commander’s House. At least eight people were killed in the protests that erupted in Pakistan.
On May 25, an anti-terrorism court permitted the handover of 16 suspects, involved in the ransacking and vandalising of the Corps Commander’s House to the commanding officer so they can be tried under the army laws. ATC Judge Abher Gul Khan accepted the request of the army officer who had sought the custody of the vandals who are presently in Camp Jail, Lahore.In two different lawsuits brought in relation to the assault on Corps Commander House, also known as Jinnah House, the defendants were named. Amar Zohaib, Ali Iftikhar, Ali Raza, Muhammad Arsalan, Muhammad Umair, Muhammad Raheem, Zia-ur-Rehman, Waqas Ali, Raees Ahmad, Faisal Irshad, Muhammad Bilal Hussain, Faheem Haider, Arzam Junaid, former PTI MPA Mian Muhammad Akram Usman, Muhammad Hashir Khan, and Hassan Shakir are among the defendants.Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, encouraged the Supreme Court judges to take note and ensure a legal investigation into the violence that occurred on May 9 so that only the “guilty should be punished,” according to Dawn. Imran Khan made the request on May 28.
Khan argued that, in light of the Dawn story, the supreme court should take suo motu notice and order the release of political prisoners who were women and were peacefully protesting. He emphasised that a legal investigation was necessary to determine who fired, killing 25 unarmed protestors and injuring hundreds more. He said that 10,000 political prisoners had been held without being investigated and that arson and destruction had been reported in a few locations around the province.
