Incitement case registered against Qureshi, Fawad

• FIR was registered on complaint of Sub-inspector Waseem.
• PTI leaders in press conference had provoked people of staging violence, states FIR.
• It mentions Fawad accusing state institutions of hatching a plot to assassinate Imran Khan.

LAHORE: A case against senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Fawad Chaudhry was registered on Tuesday for inciting violence and alleging state institutions involvement in a plot to assassinate Imran Khan. 

The first information report (FIR) was registered on the complaint of Sub-inspector Waseem in the Race Course Police Station of Lahore.

The FIR stated that PTI Vice Chairman Qureshi and Senior Vice President Fawad conducted a press conference at Zaman Park in Lahore with unidentified party workers in which they provoked people to carry out violence. 

Due to that presser, the canal road was blocked and people faced difficulties while commuting, said the FIR adding that Fawad conducted a provocative and infuriating speech. He also tried to spur agitation among people against the state institutions, it added. 

FIR also mentioned Fawad accused state institutions of hatching an assassination plot against Imran Khan. It also mentioned that the PTI leader perpetrated a crime by disrupting the traffic on the road.

The charges in the FIR include roadblocks, intimidation, and agitative speeches, among other charges.

Gathering of PTI workers at Zaman Park

A district and sessions court of Islamabad had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the PTI chief on February 28 in the Toshakhana case registered against him.

To implement the court orders a team of Islamabad police had arrived at Khan's Zaman Park residence in Lahore on Sunday.  

After the news regarding the arrest of the PTI chairman reached the PTI workers, they gathered at Zaman Park on Fawad's call.

Fawad took to Twitter and stated that "any attempt to arrest Imran Khan will seriously worsen the situation, I want to warn this incompetent and anti-Pakistan government not to push Pakistan into further crisis and act sensibly".

"The government wants to disrupt the law and order situation in the country. It was the riots to erupt so that the elections could be suspended. It is an attempt to prevent the implementation of the order issued by the Supreme Court regarding the elections," he said.

Fawad also alleged that the government was insisting Khan appear before the court to kill him. "Both federal and Punjab governments are two sides of the same coin," he added.

The PTI leader had called the workers to start preparing for protest in case the chairman was arrested. 

"If anything happens, we will give a call for peaceful nationwide protests," he added.

Meanwhile, Qureshi also said they would consult with their lawyers regarding the notice sent to Khan and then announce the next strategy.

Qureshi also said that the party chief had always respected the law and courts and even appeared before the court without security.

"Even doctors did not permit him, Khan yet appeared before them. We will follow the legal process but we need to be cautious," he said while speaking to journalists.