Former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad says Imran Khan's arrest will 'deepen' crisis

• Former US envoy calls for serious soul-searching to avert crisis.
• Says national elections should be held in early June.
• Govt should make a plan to rescue country, he adds.

Former US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad on Tuesday said that arrestingPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan would "deepen" the crisis, calling for serious "soul-searching and bold thinking".

Aheavy contingent of police reached the former prime minister'sZaman Park residence in Lahore on Tuesday to arrest him in the Toshakana case — the only case in which his arrest warrants are not suspended.

The situation escalated after the law enforcers and PTI workersclashed while protests also broke out in major cities including Karachi, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Vehari, Peshawar, Quetta, and Mianwali — resulting in injuries to police personnel and workers as well.

Taking to Twitter, Khalilzad explained three issues being faced by Pakistan —political, economic, and security — and called for serious strategising to avert the crises.

Furthermore, theformer US envoy said thatthe "sequential cannibalising" of political leaders through jailing, execution, and assassination was the wrong path.

Urging the Pakistani government to take necessary steps to prevent thecountry from a meltdown, Khalilzad said that a date should be decided for the national elections in early June.

He said, meanwhile, the government should make a plan to rescue the country and put it on a path to stability, security, and prosperity. "Whichever party wins the election will have a mandate from the people on what must be done," he added.