Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been asked to either go into exile or face trial under the Army Act, India Today reported on Thursday. Khan has been given an offer by "powerful elements" to face Army Act charges and go to jail or go to London in exile, sources told India Today.
The former prime minister, his party leader, and hundreds of his supporters have been booked under the stringent Army Act for the violent protest on May 9. Sources said Khan has consulted with his close party leaders on the offer he received.
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Khan, who was once the blue-eyed boy of the army, is facing the wrath of the establishment after his supporters resorted to unprecedented protest against Pakistan Army.
After his arrest, Khan's supporters stormed army headquarters in Rawalpindi and attacked a corps commander's house in Lahore besides torching Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's residence.
Pakistan's federal and provincial governments have unleashed their forces behind Imran Khan and his party workers, who are accused of inciting the violence.
On Wednesday, Pakistan's Punjab government gave a 24-hour deadline to Imran Khan to hand over alleged rioters hiding in his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
The deadline has ended and the police will send a "delegation" to Zaman Park on Friday to search Imran Khan's house, Punjab Interim Information Minister Amir Mir said on Thursday.
In the last few days, several PTI leaders have left the party due to - what many say - intense pressure from the government and army. In a tweet today, Khan said: "My sympathies go to all those who under pressure have been made to leave the party." He also commended all the senior members who were "resisting the extreme pressure to quit the party".
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Imran Khan today said that he did not want to fight the army and that the ruling coalition - Pakistan Democratic Movement or PDM - wanted to pit him against the military. "There is a plan formed to pit the PTI against the army … their plan is to eliminate the PTI through the army," Khan said, adding that the PDM was behind this and it was "very dangerous for the country".
The former prime minister also warned that PDM's 'plot' will lead to Pakistan's disintegration. "They can’t compete with us in elections and now they want to pit us against the army." He also reminded what had happened in East Pakistan. Khan said what is happening today had happened in 1971 when a party was elected but a politician conspired with the army to remove him.
(With inputs from Hamza Ameer)