ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has submitted a statement in response to the four cases registered against him, but police officers say it is not admissible.

An anti-terrorism court had directed the PTI chief to become a part of investigation in the cases registered against him when he appeared before it on Tuesday.

Four cases were registered against him by Secretariat police in 2014, when he was leading an anti-government sit-in outside Parliament House.

These cases include the matter of the attack on a serving senior superintendent of police and other personnel, as well as attacking a government installation.

In response to the ATC directive, Mr Khan submitted a one-page statement to Secretariat police through his counsel on Wednesday.

To ‘join investigation’, accused must submit to questioning by an investigating officer

But senior police officers told Dawn that the submission of a statement by an accused could not be considered ‘becoming part of an investigation’.

In order to do so, an accused should appear before investigators for an interrogation.

Earlier, in 2013, former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf joined an investigation against him when a team of investigators recorded his statement at his residence in Chak Shahzad, police sources said.

The process of interrogation and investigation includes questioning, cross-questioning and examining and verifying the statement of the accused, and this procedure cannot be competed in the absence of the accused, even if he/she has submitted a written statement.

In order to become part of the investigation, as per the court’s orders, Mr Khan has to appear before the investigation officer, officers said, adding that either he should appears at any police installation, such as the SSP or IGP office, or request police to approach him at any location of his choosing.

The Secretariat police station house officer confirmed that in order to become part of the investigation, the accused would have to appear before the investigation officer, adding that giving a written statement was not acceptable.

Investigation Officer Anis Akbar, however, was cagey. He told Dawn that Mr Khan had submitted his statement through his counsel and that police would inform the court of the development.

The court granted him bail and asked him to become the part of the investigation, and in response he submitted a statement, the IO said, adding that it was up to the court whether it would accept the statement or not. He also said that it was Mr Khan’s choice whether to appear before the investigation officer or not.

In the brief statement, Mr Khan claims that he is the head of the “country’s largest democratic and federal political party”. The party mobilized people against rigging in elections, corruption and money-laundering and staged a 126-day sit-in in Islamabad.

During the protest, the government registered fabricated cases against him, the statement said, adding that these cases were registered against him and peaceful PTI workers to suppress the voice of the people.

As a the head of a political party, Mr Khan claimed he had the freedom of assembly under Article 16, freedom of association under Article 17 and right of speech under Article 19 of the Constitution.

His statement said his workers were unarmed and peaceful, adding that they did not commit any crime. The statement seeks the quashment of the cases registered against him.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2017