Redam Clashes In Pakistan, Former PM Imran Khan Will Attend Trial In Court

JAKARTA - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan said on Wednesday he would fulfill a court call when his supporters clashed with security forces who came to arrest him because he was not present at the trial of the case that befell him over the sale of state gifts.

Violence broke out in Pakistan Tuesday, as security forces firing tear gas and water cannons at a crowd throwing stones that 'protect' Khan's home in Lahore, adding to instabilities in Pakistan.

A court in the capital Islamabad last week issued an arrest warrant against Khan, for opposing orders to appear in court over allegations of unlawfully selling the state gifts given to him by foreign officials, when he served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

In a tweet, Khan said he had signed a "jarantee letter" that would guarantee his presence in court on the March 18 deadline. Meanwhile, his senior aide, Fawad Chaudhry, said Khan's party, Pakistan's Tereek-e-Insaf, had asked the court to stop his arrest.

"We have asked the police to wait until there is a court decision on this matter," Chaudhry added.

It was not immediately clear when the court would decide.

زمان پارک میں رینجرز معصوم اور نہتّے شہریوں پر یوں سیدھی گولیاں برسا رہے ہیں جیسے میدانِ جنگ میں ایک دشمن ان کے نشانے پر ہو! pic.twitter.com/ovYy3uilPo

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 15, 2023

The legal process against Khan began after he was ousted from his post in a vote in parliament early last year. Since then, he has demanded rapid elections and held demonstrations of protests across the country, in which he was shot and injured in one of the demonstrations. The current Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has rejected Khan's demands, and said that elections will be held according to the schedule later this year.

The former international cricketer, who turned 70-year-old politician, still has a large support base in Pakistan. In a video message broadcast by his party, he blamed the government for trying to arrest him, asking his supporters to keep fighting.

"If something happens to me, or I'm imprisoned, or they kill me, you have to prove that this nation will continue to fight, even without Imran Khan," he said.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the government had nothing to do with the arrest warrant against Khan, confirming the matter depends on the court.

"Instead of collaborating with law enforcement officials, Imran Khan actually violated the law, opposed court orders and used his party's supporters... as a human shield to avoid arrests and trigger unrest," he added.

Pakistani police fired tear gas into Imran Khan's yard in Lahore on Wednesday, following clashes between security forces and supporters of Imran Khan.

A total of 69 people have been injured in violence in the eastern city so far, including 34 police officers, a Pakistani police official told CNN on condition of anonymity, and added that the people inside Khan's residence were armed with weapons.

As clashes escalated on Tuesday, police cut power into Khan's home and turned off street lights in the wider Zaman Park neighborhood, according to spokesman Khan and his supporters.

Khan told CNN on Tuesday he was mentally ready to spend the night in the cell. "

"I want a valid arrest warrant and I want to see it, my lawyer wants to see the arrest warrant," Khan said.

"It's just a matter of time. I'm sure they will come and arrest me, I'm ready for that," he said,

"I know what the purpose is. They wanted to get me out of the race (election). They wanted to get me out of the game so they could win the election," he said.