Imran Khan
© APSecurity personnel make way for former Prime Minister Imran Khan, centre, as he arrives to appear in court in Lahore, Pakistan.
Police in Pakistan stormed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday and arrested 30 people amid tear gas shelling after someone opened fire from the roof of the building, officials said.

Senior police officer Suhail Sukhera, who is leading the operation in an upscale Lahore neighbourhood, said police moved to remove encroachments and a blockade erected by Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party and his defiant supporters.

He said baton-wielding Khan supporters attempted to resist police by throwing stones and petrol bombs, but the officers moved on until a man on the roof of Khan's residence opened fire. No one was hurt.

Sukhera said police broke open the main door of Khan's residence and found masks, petrol-filled bottles, iron rods and batons used in attacks on police during the week. Sukhera said that inside the sprawling residence, illegal structures were erected to shelter those who have been involved in attacks on police that have injured dozens of officers.


Comment: Whether this is true remains to be seen, because even if Khan's supporters were storing such items, why do it on his property when it would evidently incriminate him and provide the authorities - who came to power in a US-backed coup - with greater reason to jail him?


Witnesses said police attempted to disperse Khan supporters by firing tear gas and chased them to several homes in the Zaman Park neighbourhood. Khan was expected to appear in an Islamabad court on Saturday after a top court on Friday suspended his arrest warrant, giving him a reprieve to travel to Islamabad and face charges in a corruption case without being detained.
Imran Khan
© APThe vehicle carrying former Prime Minister Imran Khan as it moves toward Islamabad at a road in Lahore, Pakistan on Saturday, March 18, 2023.
The arrest warrant was issued for the former cricket star after he repeatedly failed to attend hearings on charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries when he was prime minister.


Comment: Again, these sound like trumped up charges. What is most telling is that this if this is the best the authorities can cococt then it may reflect Khan's upstanding character that they could rout anything more scandalous. It also may reveal just how threatened they are by his popularity, and intended policies, that they're willing to corrupt justice to achieve their goals to keep him out of power.


Khan denies the charges.

Khan had been holed up at his home in Lahore since Tuesday, after failing to appear at an earlier hearing in the case. His supporters hurled stones and clashed with baton-wielding police for two days to protect the former premier from arrest.


Comment: Suporters battled for two days, with stones, but never bothered to bring out the petrol bombs the police claim they had?


Khan, during his road trip to Islamabad, said in a video message that the government had planned his arrest despite his travel to a hearing. He said police had broken into his residence in Lahore while his wife was alone at the home. He condemned the action and demanded that those responsible be punished.

Pakistan police had sealed parts of the capital Islamabad on Saturday and deployed thousands of police officers for the court hearing.

Residents near the city's judicial complex were asked to stay indoors, political activities and gatherings were banned and cars were being checked before entering the capital.

"We have deployed heavy security to make there is no threat to his life," Islamabad police chief Akbar Nasir said ahead of the hearing.


Comment: Perhaps, but it also sounds like the lockdown was to quell any potential unrest that may arise because of Khan's immense popularity.


Khan had agreed to attend the hearing after the judge turned down his request to suspend his warrants despite resistance by his supporters.

The legal proceedings against Khan began after he was removed from office in a parliamentary vote early last year.

Since then, the 70-year-old politician has been demanding a snap election and holding protests across the country. He was shot and wounded at one of those rallies.

Current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected Khan's demands, saying an election would be held as scheduled later this year.



Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan agrees to appear in court as his supporters and police clash


The political infighting comes as nuclear-armed Pakistan struggles with an economic crisis. It is awaiting a bailout package of US$1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund.


Comment: The (Western establishment controlled) IMF.


The case before the Islamabad High Court accuses Khan of selling luxury watches and other items that were given to the state during his 2018-2022 term as prime minister. The Election Commission of Pakistan had found him guilty and barred him from holding public office for one parliamentary term.

Earlier this week, Khan told supporters that he had not attended the hearings because he feared for his safety.

The 70-year-old has claimed that his removal from power was part of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Both Washington and Sharif's government have denied the allegations.