Imran warns Punjab police, bureaucrats not to follow 'illegal' govt orders.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday asked the Punjab police and bureaucracy not to follow 'illegal orders' of the provincial government during the upcoming local government elections, claiming the PTI has been maintaining the departments' record.

He also claimed that despite pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), his government did not shift the burden of global inflation to the people. He then urged the masses to participate in an anti-inflation protest scheduled for July 2 at Islamabad's Parade Ground.

While speaking at a news conference and earlier chairing a party meeting, the former premier said it was becoming obvious that Hamza Shehbaz would not remain the Punjab chief minister for very long.

'As by-elections on 20 general seats of the Punjab Assembly are going to be held, I want to give a message to the police and bureaucracy in the province: what you are doing on the orders of the Sharif mafia and the way you treated people on May 25 [ahead of the PTI's long march on Islamabad] is being recorded. This is an era of social media and everything is on record. They [the government] will not survive, but you salaried people will pay for any step you take against us,' he said, addressing the police and bureaucracy, adding they should think of their families and that he had a record of all activities of police officials.

Ex-PM says 'salaried people' will pay for any step they take against PTI

While criticising the abysmal financial situation of the country, Mr Khan said that although the circumstances were difficult during the PTI government, they did not pass on the burden of global inflation to the masses despite IMF pressure, a weak economy and the Covid-19 pandemic. He warned that the country could suffer further if it continued to be ruled by 'experienced thieves'.

Mr Khan urged the masses to participate in the peaceful protest he had called on July 2 as it was for their future. The party meeting discussed arrangements for the protest.

Meanwhile, PTI Central Additional Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan, while speaking at a press conference at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, here, blamed the coalition government for taking the country to the verge of an economic...