Attack on Imran’s procession: PTI president says he himself stopped FIR, other procedure

ISLAMABAD: While Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has been accusing a sitting general of Pakistan’s armed forces of two assassination attempts on him, sabotaging the investigations and not letting FIRs registered, his party president and former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi contradicted Khan’s statement on Monday.

Talking to a private TV channel, Elahi admitted that it was he who, as Punjab chief minister, had stopped the registration of an FIR and other procedures because of some technicalities after the gun attack on Khan during a march in Wazirarabad in November 2022.

He said that since Khan had made him the CM, he could not allow any such decision that could potentially be a cause of mental anguish to the PTI chief himself. He also said that you can appoint anyone anywhere when you are in government, but “we didn’t, because it wasn’t possible”.

The PTI president stressed that you cannot register an FIR against anyone who is part of the armed forces or any of its institutions. He maintained that one cannot register an FIR against a judge since the judiciary has its own relevant body to deal with such matters.

Separately, PTI Secretary General Asad Umar said he totally agreed with the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) that a legal recourse should be taken to resolve the allegations levelled by party chairman Imran Khan against a senior army officer.

“The institution supporting that legal recourse would be a very positive step forward,” tweeted the PTI leader. He wrote: “Totally agree with ISPR that a legal recourse should be taken to resolve the allegations. Imran Khan has tried to do that by filing an FIR and approaching the Supreme Court.”

Meanwhile, former AJK prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas said the ISPR statement against Imran Khan’s allegation testified to the fact that the armed forces' patience was wearing thin. In a video statement, the former PTI leader said that for the last year, Imran and the other party leaders had been targeting and maligning the country’s premier intelligence agency ISI and its senior officers, particularly a top officer, and trying to drive a wedge among the public and the armed forces.

He said the armed forces guaranteed the security and stability of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan deeply loved and adored them. He said the PTI was fanning sentiments of mistrust but it won’t succeed in its designs.

Deposed premier Imran Khan — who was voted out of office in April last year — had claimed that the senior military officer, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah were behind the assassination attempt on him on November 3, 2022 in Wazirabad, but provided no evidence to authorities so far, while all the officials have rejected the allegations.