Islamabad, (Samajweekly) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan will soon seek asylum in the United States, Minister of State for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Faisal Karim Kundi, said on Thursday, media reports said.
Addressing a press conference, Kundi, an office-bearer of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said: “I am going to give you guys some news that I have received through my sources: Imran Khan will soon apply for political asylum in America,” The News reported.
Khan’s party has been feeling the heat of the state’s might after his party workers burnt and smashed military installations, including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, following his arrest on May 9 — a day the army has dubbed as “Black Day”, the report said.
Several party leaders and thousands of workers have been rounded up in connection with the violent protests and the army has insisted that people involved in the attacks on military installations be tried under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.
A close aide of Khan, Asad Umar, has relinquished his posts of secretary general and core committee member, citing the ongoing situation.
Several party leaders and lawmakers – including Shireen Mazari, Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi, Aftab Siddiqui, and Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, among others – have publicly denounced the attacks on the state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party since the May 9 vandalism, The News reported.
