A day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders indicated willingness to negotiate with the federal government, provided the offer was sincere, former Prime Minister Imran Khan criticized his party’s leadership for acting as though “all is well.” He reiterated his call for civil disobedience if the government continued to disregard his demands.
These remarks came after a court session in Adiala Jail, where Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were indicted in the Toshakhana case regarding Bulgari jewelry. This indictment coincided with the charge-sheeting of his close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other PTI leaders in connection with the May 9 riots in Lahore.
Imran Khan expressed disappointment over the lack of accountability for the violence that occurred during the D-Chowk protests in the last week of November. PTI had claimed that live ammunition was used by the government against its supporters, resulting in 12 deaths, although the federal government denied these allegations.
The PTI founder criticized the party leadership for failing to address the issue firmly in parliament. He also voiced his displeasure over party leaders’ statements that suggested everything was fine. Earlier, PTI interim chairman Gohar Ali Khan had said in the National Assembly that even if bullets were fired, the government should at least be courageous enough to offer answers, express remorse, apologize, investigate, and compensate the victims.
Imran Khan questioned why the PTI leadership was portraying a “friendly opposition” stance. “I’m not expressing a lack of confidence in the leadership, but I am concerned with how the D-Chowk incident has been handled,” he stated. He urged party leadership to make public the names of those missing from the D-Chowk protest.
The former prime minister reiterated his demands for a judicial commission to investigate the D-Chowk crackdown and the release of detained PTI workers. He warned that if these demands were not met by December 15, the party would escalate its protest efforts, including intensifying its civil disobedience campaign and observing a day of mourning.
On the court martial of former ISI Chief Faiz Hameed, Imran Khan remarked that Hameed was operating under former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and was not acting independently. He also criticized singer Salman Ahmed for making unfounded allegations against Bushra Bibi, dismissing his comments as foolish.
Indictment in Toshakhana Case
This was the second indictment of Imran Khan in as many weeks. The charge was related to a corruption case being heard by a special court of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), presided over by Special Judge Central Sharukh Arjumand. Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi both denied the charges.
Following the indictment, the court set the date for the regular trial to begin on December 18, summoning four prosecution witnesses for the next hearing. A list of 23 witnesses was presented by the prosecution.
Imran Khan has been indicted in seven different cases since his first arrest in May 2023, which led to attacks on state installations. His prior indictments include cases linked to the concealment of state gifts in Toshakhana and violent protests.
Indictment of PTI Leadership
In a separate development, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore indicted Shah Mahmood Qureshi and several other PTI leaders in connection with the May 9 riots. The hearing, conducted at Kot Lakhpat Jail, framed charges against the accused, including former governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former provincial minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, and former provincial minister Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed. All accused pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the trial.
The judge instructed the prosecution to present its witnesses by December 19 to establish the charges. The proceedings regarding an attack on police vehicles near Jinnah House were adjourned, and the case related to the attack on Askari Tower was postponed until December 23 for indictment.
PTI leaders and workers have faced multiple charges following the May 9 riots, including attacks on public and private property and military facilities, particularly after Imran Khan’s arrest in May 2023.
