Lahore: The interim government in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Wednesday gave Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a 24-hour ultimatum to hand over “30-40 terrorists who have taken refuge” in former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence here, local media reports said.
Punjab’s interim Information minister Amir Mir reportedly cited intelligence inputs to claim that “terrorists” who attacked Pakistan’s Army installations, following Imran’s arrest last week, were in contact with PTI leadership at Zaman Park.
“We’re giving an ultimatum that these terrorists should be turned over to the police, or else there will be action,” he said.
Accusing PTI of behaving like a ‘non-state actor’, Mir alleged that its chief (Imran) has been targeting the military for over a year.
In a first-of-its-kind attack, Imran’s supporters stormed the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and torched the historic Corps Commander’s House in Lahore (formerly Jinnah House) to protest his dramatic arrest from Islamabad High Court premises. Imran was granted bail by the high court a day after the country’s Supreme Court termed his arrest illegal.
“The PTI leadership had planned the attack before the arrest (of Imran),” claimed Mir.
He added that a police operation will be launched if the ‘terrorists’ didn’t surrender in 24 hours, reported Reuters.
