PAKISTAN: After police and Imran Khan’s supporters got into a fight outside the courthouse, a judge in Islamabad took away the arrest warrant for the former prime minister. Khan obeyed a court order to show up in court in Pakistan’s capital on Saturday. This came after an unsuccessful attempt to arrest him on Tuesday. He is dealing with a number of legal issues, such as selling state gifts that were presented to him by foreign dignitaries while he was in government from 2018 to 2022. Khan claims that to obtain the gifts, he obeyed the law.
Outside the court, the police and Khan’s followers got into a fight. The Islamabad police claimed that Khan’s supporters shot at the courthouse and set a police station on fire. As a result of the effects of the police’s use of tear gas, the local media stated that both judges and litigants had trouble inside the courtroom.
The judge said during the hearing: “But what should we do if the situation is like this?” Khan’s attendance was noted, and the judge then permitted him to depart.
The Punjab police, according to Khan and his close allies, allegedly broke into his home after Khan had departed for court earlier on Saturday.
Following a standoff and several days of altercations between police and his followers near the property, the action was taken.
Khan’s close aide, Fawad Chaudhry, a former minister of information, claimed that the police entrance into Khan’s home was a flagrant violation of the court’s order. The inspector general of police spoke to the media after the search of Khan’s home and revealed that they had found ammunition and petrol bombs there.
Khan’s presence at political rallies and in the courthouse was not allowed to be covered on television by Pakistan’s electronic media regulatory body, and mobile internet services in Islamabad were also disrupted.
The court cases against Khan began after he was ousted from office in a constitutional vote of no confidence. Since then, he has called for immediate elections at demonstration gatherings across the nation.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, has rejected Khan’s demands and promised that the poll will be held on schedule.
Khan, however, has also dissolved two provincial assemblies that were led by his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The administration has been avoiding holding elections, but the supreme court has ordered it to do so.
Also Read: Former PM Imran Khan Decries Arrest Attempt amid Violence in Pakistan
