Imran Khan released; slams Pak Army for jumping into politics

Lahore: Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan hit out at the country's powerful army in his first address after an Islamabad court set him free yesterday, saying it should be ashamed of jumping into politics and could form its own political party.

Addressing the nation from his Lahore home on Saturday, Khan took strong exception to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) allegations against him and said the spokesperson of the army's military wing was not even born when he represented Pakistan in the world.

“I kept Pakistan’s flag high world over. Never has ISPR made such a statement. You should be ashamed of yourself. You have jumped into politics. Why don’t you make a [political] party, Khan said in an hour-long maiden speech after the Islamabad High Court gave him blanket relief in all 145 cases registered against him.

Khan was arrested on Tuesday by paramilitary Rangers while he was present at the Islamabad High Court for the hearing of a corruption case, his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said.

The chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who travelled from Lahore to the federal capital Islamabad, was taken into custody by the Rangers when he appeared in court on anti-graft charges, his PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said.

His party confirmed the arrest of the 70-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician.

"Khan has been arrested in the Al-Qadeer trust case when he was present in the Islamabad High Court," his party said in a brief statement.

The arrest comes a day after the powerful army had accused Khan of levelling baseless allegations against a senior army officer.

As the news of his arrest by the Rangers spread, massive protests broke out in several cities across Pakistan. Protesters at several places turned violent and burned police vehicles and damaged public property.

For the first time, Khan's supporters smashed the main gate of the army's sprawling headquarters in Rawalpindi, where troops exercised restraint. The protesters chanted slogans against the establishment.

In Lahore, a large number of PTI workers stormed into the Corps Commander Lahore residence and smashed the gate and window-panes. The army personnel present on duty there, however, did not try to stop the enraged protesters who surrounded them and chanted slogans against the ‘handlers’ of the PML-N led government in the military establishment. The protesters held a demonstration in the Cantonment area.