Court pauses attempt to arrest Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan after fresh clashes

RFE/RL
Wed, 15 Mar 2023 17:53 UTC

Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan chant slogans as they protest his possible arrest, on March 14 in Karachi, Pakistan.

A Pakistani court has ordered police to halt an operation to arrest Imran Khan after fresh clashes between supporters of the former prime minister and security forces trying to detain him at his residence in the northeastern city of Lahore caused dozens of injuries.

Local media reported that more than 60 people -- as many as 50 of them police officers -- were injured in the clashes that extended overnight and into March 15, with dozens of people being admitted to hospital for treatment.

Comment: "Video images released by PTI showed police hitting Khan supporters with batons and lobbing tear-gas canisters, some of which landed on the lawn of Khan's house, while Khan's supporters hurled rocks and bricks at the officers."

Following the incidents, the Lahore High Court ruled that the police operation be paused until March 16 at 10 a.m. local time.

The clashes started on March 14, when followers of Khan's political party, Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI), gathered outside Khan's residence in Lahore after police arrived to arrest Khan in a case involving state gifts.

Since his ouster last April in a no-confidence vote in parliament, Khan has repeatedly ignored arrest warrants and court summons in a string of cases against him, claiming they are a plot by the government led by his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharif told Pakistan's Geo television on March 14 that Khan's arrest was ordered by a court and was not political.

Comment: The PTI thinks differently:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party said authorities have registered 80 "fake cases" against Khan in order to politically victimize the former premier, whose life is being threatened. Fawad Chaudhry, a senior party leader, said Khan's legal team would challenge the warrants.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told a rally broadcast live on local TV that police would arrest Khan and present him in court, but an aide to Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, told reporters the former prime minister had secured "protective bail" from a court and therefore police could not arrest him.

Two courts in Islamabad on March 13 issued arrest warrants for Khan over his failure to appear before judges in a case involving accusations that Khan has concealed details of gifts received while he was prime minister in his asset declarations, and in a terrorism case.

Khan has failed to attend indictment hearings three times in the gifts case.

A district and sessions court restored nonbailable arrest warrants for Khan in the gifts case, and instructed the police to arrest him and present him in court by March 18.

Khan has called on his supporters to reach his residence in Lahore in video messages and tweets. He urged his supporters to "continue the struggle."

Comment: Two days ago Khan led a rally of thousands of his supporters after news of the arrest warrant:

Khan's supporters threw rose petals at a convoy carrying him to the Lahore rally, which swelled to more than 5,000. Security was ramped up and hundreds of police were deployed to the city for Monday's rally, which authorities permitted.

Later, Khan from his bullet-proof vehicle addressed supporters, saying he will hold an election rally in the city's spacious public park on Sunday. He denounced Wednesday's police crackdown against his planned rally in Lahore, saying he will never forget the killing of one of his supporters who died in police custody after being arrested. However, police deny the claim, saying Zillay Shah died on the road.

Khan claims the plan is to assassinate him:

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan says the "real intent" of police is to "abduct and assassinate" him after security forces attempted to detain him on Wednesday despite resistance from hundreds of the politician's supporters in the eastern city of Lahore.
...
"Clearly 'arrest' claim was mere drama because real intent is to abduct & assassinate," he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. "From tear gas & water cannons, they have now resorted to live firing."

He added: "There is no doubt of their mala fide intent."

... Khan has maintained that the plot to arrest him is "not because I broke any law" but rather to ensure he "cannot contest elections."