Pakistan: Punjab cabinet approves undertaking legal action against Imran Khan and his party leaders

Imran Khan

The Punjab cabinet decided to file a lawsuit against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) officials and former prime minister Imran Khan for creating a "hateful narrative against the state institutions," Dawn, a Pakistan-based publication, stated. The province administration released a statement stating that the decision was made during a meeting of the Punjab cabinet, which was presided over by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

While addressing a press conference in Lahore, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said the home department had submitted an inquiry report allegedly revealing that PTI members were "spreading mischief inside and outside the (Adiala) jail." Azma Bokhari alleged that the PTI spread propaganda that Imran Khan was not permitted to meet anyone. She further said that the party was "spreading hate as part of organised propaganda".

According to the Dawn report, Bokhari stated that the decision to file a complaint was made based on the information that was given by the home ministry.
. She said, "To spread incitement in the country, to destabilize the country, to spread hatred against the institutions in the country, that is the total agenda of this party," adding that Imran Khan's party was not thinking about the country's benefit.

Regarding the military establishment's purported political activity, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan chastised it last week. In reference to his "political press conference," he subtly demanded that the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general be tried under Article 6. This was reported by Dawn.

He made the remarks after ISPR Director General Major General Ahmed Sharif said that any talks with the PTI could happen only if it "earnestly apologises publicly in front of the nation." The PTI had called the ISPR's press conference as "full of contradictions".

The Capital Development Authority demolished a section of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) central secretariat in Islamabad earlier on Thursday due to a "violation of building rules," as reported by Geo News. The party formed by Imran Khan took strong exception to the CDA's decision. The CDA said in a statement that an operation to remove encroachment and unlawful construction was started on Thursday by its anti-encroachment team. The procedure lasted an hour and began at approximately 11.30 p.m. (local time).

The CDA stated that the site had been allocated in the name of a person known only as Sartaj Ali and that encroachment by a 'political party' was being removed. According to Geo News, the CDA claimed that an extra floor was constructed on the property against the building codes. The government agency claimed that notices it had sent to PTI had been unsuccessful. The party that former prime minister Imran Khan formed asked its employees to report to the secretariat right away while the operation was underway.

The PTI said that the government began demolishing the office in an "illegal and unjust manner." While the CDA said that it had issued several notices to PTI, the party chairman, Barrister Gohar Khan, said they had not received any orders from the CDA. Khan said that CDA officials were asked to provide documents about the operation, however, they were unable to produce them. He stated, "If there had been any encroachments and they had informed us about them earlier, we would have removed them ourselves."

(With Inputs from Agencies)