‘Targeted’ violence to ‘justify crackdown’: Imran Khan criticizes Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan accused “agency men” of setting fire and shooting in some areas during violent protests in the country last week. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif orchestrated the violence to justify the current crackdown, he claimed.

“We have a wealth of evidence to present to any independent investigation that the arson and in some places the shootings were carried out by agency men who wanted to cause chaos and blame PTI for which the current crackdown would be justified.” Imran Khan said in a statement. video posted on his Twitter account.

Government buildings and the Lahore Corps Commander’s House were looted under the “organized conspiracy”, it added.

“I want an independent investigation (into the hooliganism)…” he said, adding that this was all being done under the “London plan” with the aim of banning his party.

“Clearly this was all handled by those who wanted to use this as a pretext to crack down further on PTI, jail our workers and senior leadership along with me so that the guarantees given to NS (Nawaz Sharif) in the London plan could be honest.”, he claimed.

Widespread protests have gripped Pakistan following the arrest of Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case. Workers from his party broke into the military installations and ransacked the house of the Lahore Corps Commander, reports say.