‘Don’t have a problem with army chief’

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has told Al Jazeera he does not "have a problem" with the country's army chief but accused Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir of trying to stop him from returning to power.

"I have no problem with him, but he seems to have a problem with me," Khan told Al Jazeera in an interview on Saturday days after the civilian government said it will use a controversial army law to try supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party involved in damaging military installations.

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"I haven't done anything to antagonise the army chief, but there is something he has against me which I don't know," the former prime minister and head of the PTI party said.

The cricketer-turned-politician has accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of being "a puppet" of the powerful army, which has carried out multiple coups against civilian governments since the South Asian country's independence in 1947.

The 70-year-old leader, speaking from his residence in the eastern city of Lahore, accused the police of arresting 7,500 protestors believed to be from his party.

Khan urged his supporters to remain peaceful in case he is arrested, adding that the government will use instances of violence to launch a crackdown on the opposition activists and leaders.