Ex-PM Khan’s party official says family ‘attacked’ during top court hearing on election symbol dispute

In this file photo, taken on August 9, 2023, Gohar Khan, lawyer and legal team member of former Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, talks to the media as he arrives to attend a hearing at the High Court in Islamabad. (AFP/File)

• Barrister Gohar Khan says people came in pickup trucks and took the computer, documents from his residence
• Police says they acted on a tip-off and reached a house to arrest criminals, only to discover it was Khan’s home

ISLAMABAD: The top office-bearer of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced during a crucial court hearing about the party’s election symbol on Saturday his family was “attacked” by people who took away important documents from his residence as the national polls loom next month.
Barrister Gohar Khan, the new PTI chairman, was at the Supreme Court to witness the proceedings initiated by a petition filed by the country’s election regulatory authority that seeks to revoke “cricket bat” as the PTI emblem for the next polls after blaming it for holding a flawed intraparty voting process.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had issued a ruling in this connection last month, though it was challenged by Khan’s party at the Peshawar High Court (PHC) that managed to secure a favorable verdict. The ECP went to the top court in response to file an appeal against the PHC decision, and the new PTI chairman was present at the hearing when he discovered about the incident.
“My family has been attacked,” Barrister Khan approached the rostrum and told the court. “[People] arrived in four pickup trucks and took the computer and documents from my residence. They beat my nephew and son. I just received this information.”
In recent months, the PTI has repeatedly stated that its leaders have been targeted by state agencies, alleging an uneven playing field ahead of the upcoming general elections.
The party has been facing a crackdown following violent protests triggered by the brief detention of ex-PM Khan from an Islamabad court last year in May.
People carrying the PTI flags targeted government buildings, including a top general’s residence in Lahore and the main gate of the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, and setting some of them on fire.
Following Barrister Khan’s statement in court, Islamabad police shared via social media that they had acted on a tip-off and reached a house in search of wanted criminals, only to discover it was the residence of the new PTI chief.
“No violence was inflicted on anyone, nor were any documents taken,” the post continued. “It was a routine operation. Further investigations are being conducted.”