Imran Khan: Pakistan on edge after Khan’s supporters conflict with police making an attempt to arrest former chief

Islamabad, Pakistan
CNN
 — 

Pakistani police have been locked in a standoff Wednesday with supporters of Imran Khan after an evening of violent clashes outdoors the previous prime minister’s dwelling within the jap metropolis of Lahore as officers try and arrest the opposition chief for failing to seem in court docket on corruption prices.

Footage shared by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social gathering and native media confirmed police firing tear gasoline and water cannons at Khan’s supporters on Tuesday in an effort to disperse them. The previous prime minister’s supporters threw stones in return, injuring 4 law enforcement officials, in line with a tweet from Islamabad police.

Protests additionally broke out in main cities throughout Pakistan on Tuesday in assist of Khan, who launched a video on social media asking his followers to “come out” in assist of his motion if he’s detained.

Khan, who was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote final April, has since led a preferred marketing campaign towards the present authorities, accusing it of colluding with the army to take away him from workplace. He has accused Pakistani authorities of trying to arrest him to take away him from upcoming by-elections in April and a common election scheduled for October.

“[The government], they’re petrified that if I come into energy, I’ll maintain them accountable,” Khan informed CNN on Tuesday. “In addition they know that even when I am going to jail, we’ll swing the elections it doesn’t matter what they do.”

The previous chief says the fees towards him are politically motivated and has warned that makes an attempt to arrest him might result in a harmful escalation in political violence within the nation. He additionally believes that Pakistan’s ruling coalition would possibly ultimately use a “pretext of violence” to delay the upcoming votes.

In an announcement to CNN, Pakistan’s data minister denied any political involvement within the case.

“The federal government has nothing to do with the arrest (of Khan), and the arrest has nothing to do with elections. The police is barely complying with the orders of the court docket,” Marriyum Aurangzeb stated.

“As a substitute of cooperating with legislation enforcement officers, Imran Khan is breaking the legislation, defying court docket orders and utilizing his social gathering employees as human shields to evade arrest and stoke unrest,” she added.

As clashes escalated Tuesday, police lower the electrical energy provide to Khan’s dwelling and turned road lights off within the wider Zaman Park neighborhood, in line with Khan’s spokesperson and different backers.

“We’re able to face every kind of fascism to guard Imran Khan,” Musarrat Cheema, a former spokesperson for the Punjab authorities, wrote on Twitter. “The whole nation stands with Chairman Imran Khan.”

Khan faces allegations of illegally buying and promoting items given to him by overseas dignitaries whereas he was in workplace, which he has rejected as “biased.”

On Monday, the Islamabad Excessive Court docket issued an arrest warrant towards Khan over the case to have him introduced earlier than the court docket on March 18.

“On the order of the court docket, the one that ran away from the court docket can be arrested and arrested and produced there,” tweeted Pakistani Inside Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday.

However Khan’s legal professionals have argued he has beforehand failed to seem in court docket as a result of he can not depart his residence in Lahore as a consequence of safety issues. He can solely make appearances by way of video hyperlink, in line with his authorized group.

The political upheaval comes at a time when Pakistan’s authorities waits for a delayed bailout from the Worldwide Financial Fund, which is able to assist with the nation’s value of dwelling disaster and ailing financial system.

Khan has solely been arrested as soon as in 2007 by then President and army ruler Pervez Musharraf, who died earlier this yr.

However he informed CNN Tuesday that he was “mentally ready to spend the evening in a cell.”

“I need a correct warrant of arrest and I wish to see that, my legal professionals wish to see the warrant,” Khan stated.

“It’s a matter of time. I’m satisfied they are going to are available and arrest me, I’m ready for it,” he stated, including: “I do know what the intention is. They wish to get me out of the race. They wish to get me out of the match in order that they will win the elections.”