A judge has dropped an arrest warrant against former prime minister Imran Khan yesterday, his lawyers said, after the ex-cricketing star, who had skipped several hearings, travelled to court.
The 70-year-old has been tangled in a slew of court cases since he was ousted in a no-confidence motion last year and has been pressuring the fragile coalition government which replaced him to hold early elections.
Earlier this week Khan’s supporters fought pitched battles with police sent to arrest him in the eastern city of Lahore after he failed to appear in court over graft charges, citing security concerns.
“The court has cancelled the arrest warrant after marking Imran Khan’s attendance. The hearing has been adjourned till March 30,” one of Khan’s lawyers, Gohar Khan, told AFP.
After days of legal wrangling, Khan travelled more than 300km from Lahore to the Islamabad court complex, but was unable to get out of the car.
Around 4,000 supporters mobbed the complex, pelting stones and throwing bricks at police officers who fired back with tear gas.
The Islamabad police chief told Geo News that Khan’s supporters attacked police near the court and fired tear gas shells, prompting police to fire more tear gas back.
Given the chaos around the complex, Khan was unable to physically enter the courtroom, and was allowed by the judge to sign his presence from his vehicle.
Khan’s aide Fawad Chaudhry told Reuters that the former premier’s presence had been recorded officially by the court and he had left to return to his home in the city of Lahore.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter to criticise Khan, saying he was using people as human shields and was attempting to intimidate the judiciary.
The case has been brought by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which has accused Khan of not declaring gifts received during his time as premier, or the profit made from selling them.
Khan claims authorities want to throw him in jail so he is unable to campaign for upcoming elections.
He says he followed legal procedures in acquiring the gifts.
Some 4,000 security officials including elite police commandos, anti-terrorism squads and paramilitary rangers have been deployed around Islamabad with hospitals put on high alert.
Police meanwhile raided his house in a plush Lahore neighbourhood after blocking nearby roads and suspending mobile services in the area.
Many of Khan’s supporters had stayed back to guard the former prime minister’s home as he left for Islamabad yesterday.
The police chief for Punjab province, Usman Anwar, told a media conference in Lahore that officers went to Khan’s house to intercept people who had been involved in earlier clashes with police and had arrested 61 people, including for throwing petrol bombs.
Khan’s party shared with journalists footage that appeared to show police in the garden of the Lahore home beating his supporters with batons.
Khan said his wife was alone in the house during the raid.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News the police recovered weapons from the premises outside Khan’s home and had a warrant to carry out the search.
Sanaullah said law enforcement personnel did not enter the residence, remaining in the garden and driveway.
As the political drama unfolds, Pakistan is in the grip of a stark economic downturn, risking default if help cannot be secured from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The security situation is also deteriorating with a spate of deadly attacks on police, linked to the Pakistan Taliban.
Last year Khan was shot in the leg during a political rally, an assassination bid he blamed on Prime Minister Sharif.