A few hours after Ali Bilal was allegedly killed in police custody after a rally in Lahore, PTI announced that his funeral prayers would be offered across Pakistan.

Chairman Imran Khan made the announcement in a tweet.

“I want all our district presidents & office bearers across Pakistan to hold ghaibana namaz i janaza for our martyred worker Ali Bilal tomorrow,” he wrote.

He had earlier tweeted that Ali Bilal, affectionately referred to within the party as Zille Shah, was ‘murdered’ by Punjab police.

Imran said they would file cases against the IG and CCPO for the killing.

He also posted a video of the worker being arrested where he was seemingly healthy.

“So he was killed while in police custody,” he had wrote.

The PTI rally that had been planned for Wednesday barely got off the ground in the face of a crackdown by the police. Armed with batons, riot gear and water cannons, the police made arrests and beat back protestors saying they had violated section 144.

Chief minister denies death in custody

Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi took notice of the death PTI worker Ali Bilal and claimed that he was not killed in police custody. He also said that videos posted by Imran Khan were old.

He also said that safe city cameras had captured a private vehicle bringing Ali Bilal to the hospital and that a search for the vehicle and the poeple in it is underway. He also said that the matter could only be concluded after a post-mortem and the safe city report.

The CM said that 11 police officials including an SHO and a DSP were injured during the day’s events and claimed that the PTI workers had come armed with sticks and stones.