Pakistani court quashes arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Imran Khan

Failed arrests

Last Tuesday, Imran Khan's supporters clashed with police sent to arrest him in the Pakistani city of Lahore, after the 70-year-old politician failed to appear in court on corruption charges , citing security concerns.

Pakistan issues arrest warrant for prime minister Khan in front of security forces — Security personnel and supporters escort the car carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Photo: AFP

Police raided Imran Khan's residence in an upscale Lahore neighbourhood after blocking nearby roads and disrupting mobile phone signals in the area. But hundreds of supporters of the former Pakistani prime minister turned up to prevent police from entering the house.

Security forces said they were attacked with petrol bombs, iron rods and slingshots. After the police withdrew, many supporters remained to guard Mr Khan’s home as the former Pakistani prime minister travelled to Islamabad on Saturday.

Punjab's information department director Amir Mir told Reuters that police were outside Mr Khan's home again on Saturday to collect evidence of attacks on security forces.

"When the police arrived, PTI (led by Imran Khan) activists tried to stop them by pelting stones and attacking them with batons. In retaliation, the police arrested many of them and informed the PTI leadership about the evidence collection process," Mir said.

Meanwhile, Mr Khan’s team shared footage with journalists showing police in the garden of his Lahore home beating his supporters with batons. The former prime minister said his wife was home alone when the raid took place.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News television that police had recovered several weapons from premises outside Mr Khan's home. Sanaullah said law enforcement officers did not enter the house but stood in the garden and on the driveway. He also said police had a search warrant when they entered the mansion.

Both sides temporarily conceded

After days of legal battles, Mr. Khan traveled more than 300 kilometers from Lahore to the court complex in the capital Islamabad on Saturday afternoon (March 18) in a convoy escorted by supporters, but was unable to get out of the car because of the chaotic security.

Islamabad police chief told Geo News that around 4,000 pro-Khan supporters attacked police near the court and fired tear gas shells, prompting police to fire tear gas in response. Although Imran Khan was unable to get out of his car, the court eventually deemed him to have appeared.

"The court has cancelled the arrest warrant after confirming Imran Khan's presence. The hearing has been adjourned until March 30," one of the former Pakistani prime minister's lawyers, Gohar Khan, told AFP news agency.

Former cricket star Imran Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been embroiled in a series of lawsuits since he was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year. A Pakistani court has summoned Khan to testify on charges of illegally selling state gifts given to him by foreign officials while in office.

Imran Khan has so far maintained that he followed legal procedures for the gifts. Hours before leaving his home for Islamabad, the former cricket star also told Reuters that he had formed a committee to lead his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), if he was arrested.

Khan, who was shot in the leg while campaigning in November, added that the threat to his life was greater than before and claimed - without providing evidence - that political opponents and the military wanted to prevent him from running in elections later this year.

Pakistan's information minister said the government did not direct the actions of the police and that security forces were simply following court orders. The military, which has a large role in Pakistani politics, said it remained neutral to political parties.

The risk of violence remains…

Tensions between Imran Khan's supporters and security forces have not eased. About 4,000 security personnel including special police, counter-terrorism squads and paramilitary forces have been deployed around Islamabad, and hospitals have been put on high alert.

Regardless of the outcome of Mr Khan's trial, the former prime minister's PTI party will not back down from its goal of holding rallies to garner support for him, analysts say.

Imran Khan is facing an increasingly serious set of charges after he staged protests against his ouster. These include serious charges of rioting, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit an offence under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism law.

If convicted, Imran Khan would face disqualification from running in elections or holding public office in the future – an obstacle the former prime minister cannot afford as he seeks to return to power in national elections later this year.

That is why the PTI party is threatening mass protests, causing further difficulties for a government facing an economic crisis, if Imran Khan is arrested.

Pakistan issues arrest warrant for prime minister Khan in front of security forces photo 3 — Mr. Imran Khan and Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army, Qamar Javed Bajwa. Photo: Daily Pakistan

But James Schwemlein, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) - a foreign policy think tank with offices in the US, Russia, Lebanon, Belgium, China and India - said it would be difficult for Mr Khan to escape trial because he had lost the support of the military.

“While in office, his lack of experience in government and his inconsistent foreign policy became a source of tension with the military,” Schwemlein said. “Disagreements between former Prime Minister Khan and the senior military leadership… came to a head last October when Khan tried to block the appointment of a new director of Pakistan’s intelligence agency in favor of the incumbent.”

But after surviving an assassination attempt in November, Mr Khan has made numerous accusations and criticisms against his successor, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah. Those statements by Imran Khan have inadvertently backed him into a corner.

Imran Khan, a legend and former captain of the Pakistan cricket team, with his steely determination and the style of a “cornered tiger” who won the 1992 cricket world cup with the weakest squad in the tournament - played a key role in his entry into politics.

But in politics, Khan’s legendary reputation and courage are not enough. Knowing when to stop at red lines is the highest guarantee of this former prime minister’s destiny. It seems that Khan has gone too far beyond that limit.

Pakistan has a long history of political instability. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007 in a gun and bomb attack after holding an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi, just outside Islamabad. Her father and former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed in the same city in 1979 after being deposed in a military coup.

Quang Anh

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