The mob of hundreds of followers who took to the streets obeying an appeal by former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to avoid his arrest achieved its goal and made the police, who were surrounding the opposition leader’s residence for the second day in a row, desist from their attempt to arrest the politician for a case related to the gifts received during his government. The security forces withdrew this Wednesday after clashing with the protesters, against whom they fired tear gas and water cannons, although they assured that the operation is still ongoing and will be resumed when the cricket match that is played in the city ends until the afternoon. today, Geo News reported.
Khan, who yesterday called on his followers to “take to the streets” to resist the new arrest attempt, today took to Twitter to ensure that the “real intention” of the Pakistani authorities is to “kidnap and kill.” “Starting with tear gas and water cannons, now they have resorted to live fire,” said the leader of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), sharing images of several bullet casings allegedly fired by the authorities. After the police left, Khan was seen standing in front of his house, wearing a gas mask and talking to his supporters.
A contingent of police arrived from Islamabad tried to arrest Khan yesterday at his residence in the eastern city of Lahore, after a failed attempt on the 5th, but the PTI leaders called their followers to the area and the action of the forces security degenerated into crashes.
The Punjab State Police, of which Lahore is the capital, stated on Twitter that more than a hundred of its troops were injured in the clashes. Khan’s PTI also assured on the social network that hundreds of his followers were injured, and denounced that the tear gas shots “has started again against Imran Khan’s house” this Wednesday.
Between protests in the main cities of the Asian country, Khan’s lawyers appealed yesterday the arrest warrant before the High Court of Islamabad. A lower court in the capital Islamabad last week issued an arrest warrant for Khan for defying orders to appear in court to defend charges that he illegally sold state gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries while he was prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
The opposition leader has been accused of keeping gifts received during his tenure without delivering them to a government warehouse where gifts from foreign officials are kept and that, if they want to keep them, they must first pay 50% of their appraisal value. According to a list shared by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, gifts given to Khan last year included seven expensive wristwatches, including one valued at 85 million Pakistani rupees (about 280,000 euros). The list also contained perfumes, diamond jewelry, and tableware. Khan has denied wrongdoing and says the case is politically motivated.
Khan has also been implicated in other cases and has missed several citations in recent months, citing ill health after he suffered gunshot wounds to both legs from an assassination attempt last November.
Khan was removed from his post last April through a vote of no confidence, which the former ruler attributed to a move by the United States to oust him from power, although he later claimed that it was former Pakistan Army chief Qamar Bajwa who conspired with the opposition to evict him.
