May 9 violence: Imran Khan grilled by Islamabad police

• Khan says he has "no abhorrence of Pakistan, national institutions".
• JITs grill Khan with over two dozen questions amid interrogation.
• Khan appears before JITs after warning of legal action against him.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was bombarded with over two dozen questions when he appeared before two joint investigation teams (JITs) on Sunday for investigations in 12 cases registered at different police stations under Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and other laws, The News reported.

The JITs, headed by SSP Yasir Afridi and SP Rukhsar Mehdi, respectively, put more than 25 questions to grill Khan.

While recording his statement, the former prime minister affirmed that he had "no abhorrence of Pakistan and the national institutions".

"I respect the Pakistan Army, martyrs, ghazis and monuments of martyrs from the core of my heart," he said.

Sources confided to this reporter that Khan openly condemned the May 9 incident but said: “The PTI workers or I have nothing to do with the May 9 occurrence.”

He claimed it was a conspiracy against him and his party.

“I will never accept responsibility for the occurrence because the conspiracy has been hatched by the government and law enforcement agencies engaged in entrapping me and the party in legal clutches,” he maintained.

Responding to a question, the PTI chief said he observed tyranny from the government quarters when they attempted to assassinate him on May 25 last year.

“I do not agree to the assertion that the PTI workers were involved in 9th May episode because I have proof of conspiracy linked to the occurrence,” he repeatedly averred while responding to the JIT questions.

“They are trying to eliminate me from politics but they can’t triumph in their design,” Imran concluded.

Imran appeared before the two JITs constituted under the supervision of DIG (Operations) to investigate 12 cases lodged against him and to record his statement with regard to the criminal cases registered under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), ATA, and Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

The former PM recorded his statements in seven cases (4 registered under ATA offences with the CTD police and three with different police stations). 

However, he refused to respond to the questions in the residual five cases, saying he was not prepared to record his statements in them.

Investigators said the suspects had earlier avoided appearing before the JIT for investigation. The sources said 12 notices were served on the former premier, including seven issued by the CTD and six by JIT, but he never responded to the notices. 

However, two final notices were served on him with the warning that legal action would be taken if he avoided appearing on July 9 at the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Complex in G/11-4 at 2:00pm.