Islamabad: The Pakistan High Court on Wednesday refused to suspend Imran Khan’s arrest warrant in a corruption case and ordered the former prime minister to approach the trial court with his petition. Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has been under attack for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch, which he received as prime minister at a discounted price from a state depository called Toshakhana and was selling them. Benefit. On 13 March, Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal issued an arrest warrant against Imran and directed the police to produce him in court on 18 March.
Former cricketer-turned-politician Khan, 70, who was recuperating from bullet injuries sustained in an assassination attempt in Wazirabad last year, did not attend the prosecution’s hearing in the case.
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Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Amir Farooq ordered Khan to present the petition in the lower court and refused to suspend the arrest warrant.
Lahore’s Zaman Park area turned into a battlefield on Tuesday after 70-year-old Khan’s defiant supporters and policemen clashed to prevent them from arresting their leader in the Toshakhana case, leaving both sides injured.
Meanwhile, police and other law enforcers withdrew from Khan’s house on Wednesday, following an order from the Lahore High Court, and clashes that began after police tried to arrest him for not appearing in court in the Toshakhana case But put an end to it.
The upmarket area where Khan lives was under siege on Wednesday as the government sent in rangers to help police teams, who forced their way through a group of angry PTI supporters set to arrest the former prime minister on Tuesday. were fighting for.
According to Khan, he was facing more than 80 different cases in different courts across Pakistan.
Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan .
Since his ouster, Khan has been calling for early elections to oust the “imported government” led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif has said that elections will be held later this year after the completion of the five-year term of the parliament.