Lahore: Pakistan’s jailed former premier Imran Khan has said that he will approach the UN and other international forums to raise the “Islamabad massacre” issue, prompting Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to say that his party will have to show dead bodies to prove its claim.

Khan also likened the alleged firing by the forces on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers on November 26 in Islamabad to that of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy.

“I am deeply saddened to hear about the killings of innocent citizens in the Islamabad massacre. The modern-day General Dyer has repeated the tragic history of Jallianwala Bagh. The blood of these people will not go in vain. We will take their case to every forum, including the United Nations,” Khan wrote on X on Monday.

Khan has been in jail since August last year and his party held a sit-in in Islamabad seeking his release, the return of the party’s stolen mandate and independence of judiciary.

His party says at least a dozen of its workers were killed and hundreds wounded by the direct firing of law enforcers on the protesters.

The government, however, claimed that neither the army nor police opened fire on protesters.

“The movement for true freedom will not be stopped by such tactics. Neither will I back down, nor will the Pakistani nation. If we surrender today, the future of our country is dark. Peaceful protest is a fundamental right of every Pakistani and can be exercised anywhere in the country,” the PTI founder leader said.

Khan claimed that live ammunition and snipers were used and dozens were killed, hundreds injured, and over 6,000 workers were arrested on false charges.

“I call on the Supreme Court to form an impartial judicial commission to investigate this massacre and ensure severe punishments for those who ordered and executed this carnage,” he said and demanded that the data from hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi regarding the casualties be made public immediately.

On the other hand, Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday said that the PTI workers had opened fire.

“The PTI workers attacked Punjab and the federation. Four Rangers personnel were killed and countless police officers were injured. The attacks happened because a mastermind of the May 9 incidents is in jail,” she said, adding that trained terrorists were paid PKR50,000 each to carry out acts of terrorism in the Islamabad rally of PTI.

Maryam asked Khan’s party to show the bodies of its workers killed in the protest.

“The PTI terrorists fired directly at policemen. Where are the bodies of the PTI workers that no one has seen? If a thousand people die, how can no one notice? First, they claimed a thousand, then 500 PTI workers were shot; where is the evidence?” she asked.

She added that if any police officer, Ranger, or PTI worker lost their life, the person in Adiala Jail is solely responsible for this.