ISLAMABAD: Clashes between supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and law enforcers continued for a second day outside his residence in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday, as a large contingent of paramilitary Rangers joined police who had arrived there the previous day to arrest the ex-premier with a court-issued warrant.
Court orders to arrest Khan came in a case, popularly called the Toshakhana reference, involving the selling of state gifts given by foreign leaders while he was prime minister. Pakistan’s election commission found him guilty in the matter last year and a criminal inquiry is now underway. If convicted, Khan faces being barred from holding public office, a huge setback with a national election scheduled for November.
Police say a court in Islamabad ordered Khan’s arrest for not appearing before it despite repeated summons. Khan and his aides cite security concerns for the non-appearance. The ex-PM was injured in an apparent assassination attempt at a protest gathering last year.
On Tuesday, as police arrived with a court-issued warrant to arrest Khan, his supporters pelted them with stones and bricks, with officers retaliating with tear gas and batons. There were reports of injuries on both sides and TV footage also showed injured policemen and Khan supporters outside Khan’s Zaman Park home.
Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan chant anti-government slogans as they gather outside the Khan's residence, in Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2023. (AP)
Early on Wednesday morning, Pakistani media widely showed footage of police shelling the area with tear gas to disperse Khan supporters gathered outside his house as a large number of Rangers arrived.
“After our workers & leadership faced police onslaught since yesterday morning of tear gas, cannons with chemical water, rubber bullets & live bullets this morning; we now have Rangers taking over & are now in direct confrontation with the people,” Khan said in a Twitter post.
Referring to Pakistan’s all-powerful military he asked:
“My question to the Establishment, to those who claim they are “neutral“: Is this your idea of neutrality, Rangers directly confronting unarmed protesters & leadership of largest political party when their leader is facing an illegal warrant & case already in court & when govt of crooks trying to abduct & possibly murder him?”
“Clearly ‘arrest’ claim was mere drama because real intent is to abduct & assassinate … There is no doubt of their mala fide intent,” Khan added.
In a video message released on Wednesday morning, Khan said a plan had been hatched in London to put him in prison and abolish all cases against his political rival Nawaz Sharif, who lives in exile in London and whose brother Shehbaz Sharif is the current Prime Minister of Pakistan.
“An agreement has been signed under the London plan which requires Imran Khan to be put in jail, the [Pakistan] Tehreek-e-Insaf [party] to be damaged, and all cases against Nawaz Sharif to be abolished,” Khan said.
“The surety has been given to Nawaz Sharif,” he added. “This is part of the London plan to put me in jail. It has got nothing to do with law, nor have I committed any crime.”
Three-time prime minister Sharif was disqualified from holding public office for life by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in April 2018 and given a 10-year prison term on corruption charges. Since 2019, he has lived in exile in London. There are a number of cases against him pending in Pakistani courts.
Explaining his decision of not appearing in court despite summons, Khan said in the video message that he had secured protective bail until March 18 and did not attend the previous hearings due to security concerns.
“To avoid the chaos, I gave an undertaking today to Ishtiaq A. Khan, who is president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, and he tried to give the surety bond to the DIG [Deputy Inspector General of Police] who was here to arrest me,” he said.
“As per section 76 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), if a surety bond is given to the arresting officer, he cannot detain you after that,” Khan said.
Khan said there was no justification to arrest him after he gave the surety bond and promised to appear in the court on March 18.
PTI workers outside Khan’s residence also accused the police of using live bullets on Wednesday morning while showing the media empty casings.
The Punjab government, however, denied it had used live ammunition.
“No police officer or soldier was armed during the raid at Zaman Park as per the instructions of the inspector general of police in Punjab [province],” it said in a statement. “Now fake news of firing has been broadcast after the PTI has injured over hundred officers and soldiers.”
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court took up today, Wednesday, Khan’s plea to suspend his arrest warrants in the Toshakhana case after his lawyers filed an appeal on Tuesday.
Apart from the Toshakhana reference, the ex-premier has been booked in over 70 different cases on various charges, including blasphemy, terrorism and sedition. He has appeared in court in other cases. Khan says the cases against him are politically motivated which the government denies.
Khan was ousted from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence last April and has since held rallies and protest marches to ask the government to announce snap national elections.
