Pakistan
Protests errupt after Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan's arrest
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested Tuesday as he appeared in court to face charges in multiple graft cases, a dramatic escalation of political tensions in the country that sparked demonstrations by his supporters in at least three cities.
Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains the leading opposition figure, was dragged from the Islamabad High Court by security agents from the National Accountability Bureau, said Fawad Chaudhry, a senior official with his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Khan was shoved into an armored car and whisked away.
Chaudhry denounced the arrest of the 71-year-old former cricket star as “an abduction.” Pakistan’s independent GEO TV broadcast video of Khan being hauled away.
Also Read: Imran Khan arrested in court in Islamabad
Afterward, a scuffle broke out between Khan’s supporters and police outside the court. Some of Khan’s lawyers and supporters were injured in the melee, as were several police, Chaudhry said. Khan’s party complained to the court, which requested a police report explaining the charges for Khan’s arrest.
Khan was taken to the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, for questioning at the offices of the National Accountability Bureau, according to police and government officials. He also was to undergo a routine medical checkup, police said.
Khan had arrived at the Islamabad High Court from nearby Lahore, where he lives, to face charges in the graft cases.
He has denounced the cases against him, which include terrorism charges, as a politically motivated plot by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, saying his ouster was illegal and a Western conspiracy. Khan has campaigned against Sharif and demanded early elections.
Tuesday's arrest was based on a a new warrant from the National Accountability Bureau obtained last week in a separate graft case for which Khan had not obtained bail, making him vulnerable to arrest. He is scheduled to appear before an anti-graft tribunal on Wednesday, officials said.
“Imran Khan has been arrested because he was being sought in a graft case,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan told a news conference. He alleged Pakistan’s treasury had lost millions of dollars while Khan was in office due to illegal purchases of lands from a business tycoon.
As the news of the arrest spread, about 4,000 of Khan’s supporters stormed the official residence of the top regional commander in Lahore, smashing windows and doors, damaging furniture and staging a sit-in as troops there retreated to avoid violence. The protesters also burned police vehicles and blocked key roads..
Protesters also smashed the main gate of the army’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where troops exercised restraint. Hundreds of demonstrators shouted pro-Khan slogans as they moved toward the sprawling building.
In the port city of Karachi, police swung batons and fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Khan supporters who had gathered on a key road.
Raoof Hasan, another leader from Khan’s party, told Al Jazeera English television that the arrest is “blatant interference in the judicial affairs by the powers-that-be." Hasan added that Khan "was virtually abducted from the court of law.”
Khan's arrest came hours after he issued a video message before heading to Islamabad, saying he was “mentally prepared” for arrest there.
Khan was wounded by a gunman at a rally in November, an attack that killed one of his supporters and wounded 13. He has insisted, without offering any evidence, that there is a plot to assassinate him, alleging that Pakistan's spy agency was behind the conspiracy. The gunman was immediately arrested and police later released a video of him in custody, allegedly saying he had acted alone.
In a strongly worded statement Monday, the military accused Khan of “fabricated and malicious allegations” of its involvement in the November shooting, saying they are “extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable.”
The military has directly ruled Pakistan for more than half of the 75 years since the country gained independence from British colonial rule, and wields considerable power over civilian governments.
Sharif, whose government faces spiraling economic woes and is struggling to recover from last year’s devastating floods that killed hundreds and caused $30 billion in damage, slammed Khan for assailing the military.
“Let this be abundantly clear that you, as former prime minister, currently on trial for corruption, are claiming legitimacy to overturn the legal and political system," Sharif tweeted after Khan's arrest.
Khan is the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arrested and hanged in 1979. The current prime minister’s brother, Nawaz Sharif, who also served as prime minister, was arrested several times on corruption allegations.
In March, police stormed Khan’s Lahore residence, seeking to arrest him based on a court order in a different case. Dozens of people, including police, were injured in ensuing clashes. Khan was not arrested at the time and later obtained bail in the case.
Khan came to power in 2018 after winning parliamentary elections and had initially good relations with the military which gradually soured.
Imran Khan arrested in court in Islamabad
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested Tuesday as he appeared in court to face charges in multiple graft cases, a dramatic escalation of political tensions in the country that sparked demonstrations by his supporters in at least three cities.
Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains the leading opposition figure, was dragged from the Islamabad High Court by security agents from the National Accountability Bureau, said Fawad Chaudhry, a senior official with his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Khan was shoved into an armored car and whisked away.
Chaudhry denounced the arrest of the 71-year-old former cricket star as “an abduction.” Pakistan’s independent GEO TV broadcast video of Khan being hauled away.
Afterward, a scuffle broke out between Khan’s supporters and police outside the court. Some of Khan’s lawyers and supporters were injured in the melee, as were several police, Chaudhry said. Khan’s party complained to the court, which requested a police report explaining the charges for Khan’s arrest.
Also Read: Pakistan: Police storm Imran Khan home in Lahore, arrest 61
Khan was taken to the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, for questioning at the offices of the National Accountability Bureau, according to police and government officials. He also was to undergo a routine medical checkup, police said.
Khan had arrived at the Islamabad High Court from nearby Lahore, where he lives, to face charges in the graft cases.
He has denounced the cases against him, which include terrorism charges, as a politically motivated plot by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, saying his ouster was illegal and a Western conspiracy. Khan has campaigned against Sharif and demanded early elections.
Tuesday’s arrest was based on a a new warrant from the National Accountability Bureau obtained last week in a separate graft case for which Khan had not obtained bail, making him vulnerable to arrest. He is scheduled to appear before an anti-graft tribunal on Wednesday, officials said.
“Imran Khan has been arrested because he was being sought in a graft case,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan told a news conference. He alleged Pakistan’s treasury had lost millions of dollars while Khan was in office due to illegal purchases of lands from a business tycoon.
As the news of the arrest spread, about 4,000 of Khan’s supporters stormed the official residence of the top regional commander in Lahore, smashing windows and doors, damaging furniture and staging a sit-in as troops there retreated to avoid violence. The protesters also burned police vehicles and blocked key roads..
Protesters also smashed the main gate of the army’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where troops exercised restraint. Hundreds of demonstrators shouted pro-Khan slogans as they moved toward the sprawling building.
In the port city of Karachi, police swung batons and fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Khan supporters who had gathered on a key road.
Raoof Hasan, another leader from Khan’s party, told Al Jazeera English television that the arrest is “blatant interference in the judicial affairs by the powers-that-be.” Hasan added that Khan “was virtually abducted from the court of law.”
Khan’s arrest came hours after he issued a video message before heading to Islamabad, saying he was “mentally prepared” for arrest there.
Also Read: Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan no-show in court, avoids arrest
Khan was wounded by a gunman at a rally in November, an attack that killed one of his supporters and wounded 13. He has insisted, without offering any evidence, that there is a plot to assassinate him, alleging that Pakistan’s spy agency was behind the conspiracy. The gunman was immediately arrested and police later released a video of him in custody, allegedly saying he had acted alone.
In a strongly worded statement Monday, the military accused Khan of “fabricated and malicious allegations” of its involvement in the November shooting, saying they are “extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable.”
Also Read: More clashes in Pakistan as police try to arrest Imran Khan
The military has directly ruled Pakistan for more than half of the 75 years since the country gained independence from British colonial rule, and wields considerable power over civilian governments.
Sharif, whose government faces spiraling economic woes and is struggling to recover from last year’s devastating floods that killed hundreds and caused $30 billion in damage, slammed Khan for assailing the military.
“Let this be abundantly clear that you, as former prime minister, currently on trial for corruption, are claiming legitimacy to overturn the legal and political system,” Sharif tweeted after Khan’s arrest.
Khan is the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arrested and hanged in 1979. The current prime minister’s brother, Nawaz Sharif, who also served as prime minister, was arrested several times on corruption allegations.
In March, police stormed Khan’s Lahore residence, seeking to arrest him based on a court order in a different case. Dozens of people, including police, were injured in ensuing clashes. Khan was not arrested at the time and later obtained bail in the case.
Khan came to power in 2018 after winning parliamentary elections and had initially good relations with the military which gradually soured.
Pakistan, Afghan Taliban agree to boost trade, lower tension
Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed government have agreed to boost trade and lower tensions along their border amid a surge in militant attacks on security forces, officials said Monday.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, struck the deal Sunday in Islamabad, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. The agreement is designed to improve bilateral trade, combat terrorism and boost bilateral ties.
Earlier, Bhutto Zardari and Muttaqi also held talks with China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang, a departure from recent years when such dialogue had been on hold, according to analysts, who say China is expanding its influence in the region. China also has played a role in the resumption of Saudi-Iran diplomatic ties.
In Pakistan, Beijing is bankrolling the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC — a sprawling package that includes such projects as road and power plant construction and boosting agriculture production.
Also Read: UN urges Afghanistan’s Taliban to end floggings, executions
The package is considered a lifeline for this impoverished Islamic nation, which is currently facing one of its worst economic crises amid stalled talks on a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.
CPEC, also known as the One Road Project, is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global endeavor aimed at reconstituting the ancient Silk Road and linking China to all corners of Asia.
Qin arrived in Islamabad on Friday and met with President Arif Alvi, Foreign Minister Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan's powerful army chief, Gen. Asim Munir. During these meetings, he was assured that Pakistan will boost security for all Chinese nationals who are working on multi-billion dollar projects in cash-strapped Pakistan.
China has been demanding more security from Pakistan for its nationals residing and working in the Islamic country since 2021, when a suicide bomber killed nine Chinese and four Pakistanis in an attack in Pakistan’s volatile northwest.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Bhutto Zardari and Muttaqi on Sunday “held a candid and in-depth exchange on key issues of mutual concern, including peace and security, as well as trade and connectivity." The two sides “reaffirmed their desire to pursue continuous and practical engagement," it said.
According to the Afghan embassy, Muttaqi and his delegation met with Bhutto Zardari and other officials. “During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, Afghan-Pak political, economic, and transit relations as well as challenges of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan have been discussed,” it said on Twitter early Monday.
Pakistan's military said Muttaqi also met with Munir, the army chief, to discuss "issues of mutual interest including aspects related to regional security, border management, and formalization of bilateral security mechanisms for improvement in the current security environment.” Munir sought enhanced cooperation to “effectively tackle the common challenges of terrorism and extremism," the statement added.
Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have featured ups and down in the past year.
In February, the two sides shut the main Afghan-Pakistan border crossing at Torkham, stranding people and trucks carrying food and essential items. After a Pakistani delegation traveled to Kabul for talks on the crisis, the border was reopened after a week and Muttaqi's visit to Islamabad was planned.
Afghanistan's Taliban have been shunned by most of the international community for harsh and restrictive measures they have imposed since seizing power in August 2021, when U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war. The Afghan Taliban has banned girls from education beyond the sixth grade and barred women from most jobs and public life.
Pakistan has lately expressed concern over a surge of deadly attacks across the country by the Pakistani Taliban — an independent militant group that is allied with and sheltered by the Afghan Taliban.
Islamabad has demanded from the Taliban in Kabul that they do more to rein in anti-Pakistani groups such as the Pakistani Taliban — also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — which have stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent months.
Rallygoers in Pakistan kill man accused of blasphemy
Rallygoers for a political party in Pakistan beat to death a participant for allegedly making a blasphemous speech, police said Sunday.
Local police officer Iqbal Khan said Maulana Nigar Alam, 40, was killed Saturday night by demonstrators in Sawaldher village of Mardan district northeast of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The rallygoers, gathered to express support for the country's judiciary, accused Alam of blasphemy when he made a concluding prayer at the end of the event.
“Some words of his prayer were deemed blasphemous by a number of protestors, leading to torture and death at the hands of the angry mob,” said Khan.
Witnesses said the police deputy on duty at the rally attempted to save the man by locking him up in a nearby shop, but the mob broke through the door and attacked him.
Videos circulating on social media showed people pushing the accused man to the ground, kicking him and beating him with batons. The man died at the scene.
Police took the body into custody and said an investigation was underway.
Accusing people of blasphemy in Pakistan is common.
Last month, the Pakistani police arrested and later released a Chinese national named Tian, who was working in Pakistan on a dam project and was accused by the locals of blasphemy.
In February, an angry mob entered a police station in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, snatched a person accused of blasphemy from his cell and killed him.
In 2021, a Sri Lankan national, Priyantha Diyawadanage, who was working as a factory manager in Pakistan, was killed by an angry mob over allegations of blasphemy.
In 2017, Pakistani student Mashal Khan was killed by a mob on the premises of his university over allegations of posting blasphemous content online.
Bangladesh behind both Pakistan and Afghanistan in World Press Freedom Index 2023
Bangladesh has ranked 163rd out of 180 nations, according to Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) World Press Freedom Index 2023.
Bangladesh is behind both Pakistan and Afghanistan in this year’s index – with Pakistan ranking 150th and Afghanistan ranking 152nd.
According to RSF: “The Digital Security Act (DSA) is one of the world’s most draconian laws for journalists. It permits searches and arrests without any form of warrant, violation of the confidentiality of journalists’ sources for arbitrary reasons… In this legislative environment, editors routinely censor themselves.”
“Most of the leading private media are owned by a handful of big businessmen who have emerged during Bangladesh’s economic boom. They see their media outlets as tools for exercising influence and maximising profits, and they prioritise good relations with the government over the safeguard of editorial independence,” it adds.
From previous year: B'desh slips 10 notches in RSF press freedom index
The World Press Freedom Index’s analysis for Bangladesh further says: “In the past decade, radical Islamist groups have waged extremely violent campaigns that have led to journalists being murdered. These groups now use social media to track down journalists who defend secularism, the right to alternative opinions or religious freedom.”
Asia, in general, did not fare well when it comes to press freedom. India ranked 161st and China ranked 179th in the World Press Freedom Index.
Regarding India, the index’s observations are: “Modi has an army of supporters who track down all online reporting regarded as critical of the government and wage horrific harassment campaigns against the sources. Caught between these two forms of extreme pressure, many journalists are, in practice, forced to censor themselves.”
Reporters Without Borders noted that India has seen a significant decline in press freedom in recent years, with increasing threats and attacks on journalists, while China remains “one of the world’s most repressive countries” when it comes to media freedom.
Read More: Repeal DSA, demands TIB marking World Press Freedom Day
“The same trend can be found in Bangladesh (163rd) and Cambodia (147th), where governmental persecution of independent media has intensified in the run-up to elections that are due to be held in the coming months,” it says.
The top ten countries in the index, with the highest press freedom, are: Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Portugal, and Timor-Leste.
These countries have strong democratic institutions and robust legal frameworks that protect the freedom of the press and the right to information.
The report highlights the need for governments to prioritize the protection of journalists and the promotion of press freedom as a fundamental human right.
It also calls on the international community to take action to hold governments accountable for violating these rights and to support independent journalism around the world.
Read More: Hasan trashes RSF report on press freedom as malicious & unacceptable
Razakars’ list will be disclosed by December: Minister Mozammel
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque on Tuesday said the list of Razakars, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation force during the 1971 liberation war, will be disclosed by December this year.
He came up with the remark while talking to journalists after offering the Jummah prayer in Hazart Shahjalal (R) Majar Masjid in Sylhet.
“Razakars’ list of principles were drafted, and even work is going on in this regard, it will be possible to disclose the list of the Razakars by December,” the minister said.
He said, “Even before there was no act to make a list of the Razakars, the act was passed in the last parliament. Now a committee by making Parliamentary Standing Committee President on the Liberation War Affairs Shahjahan Khan as convener was formed to prepare the list.”
Read more: Govt finally publishes list of 10,789 Razakars
The minister hoped that the list will be disclosed at the end of the year.
Asked about the ongoing movement by the opposition BNP on the caretaker government, he expressed reluctance to make comments saying that the party chief or general secretary can talk on this issue.
Pakistan denies Israel trade after businessman's export
Pakistan on Sunday denied rumors of trade with Israel following a Jewish businessman’s tweet about successfully exporting food samples to Jerusalem and Haifa.
Fishel Benkhald, a Pakistani Jew based in the southern port city of Karachi, went viral for tweeting about his first kosher food shipment to Israel. The two countries do not have diplomatic ties.
“Congratulations to me as a Pakistani. I exported the first batch of Pakistan food products to Israel market,” he said last week.
Benkhald shared a video clip showing his visit to an Israeli market. He walks past stalls with containers of dates, dried fruit and spices with product tags in Hebrew.
Also read: Rare shipment from Pakistan reaches Israel
Pakistan denied having any diplomatic or trade relations with Israel. “There is no change in the policy,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told media in response to queries about bilateral trade.
Pakistan officially backs a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has a longstanding position of non-recognition of Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established within the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry said rumors of bilateral trade were “sheer propaganda.”
“Neither do we have any trade relations with Israel nor do we intend to develop any,” it said in a statement.
Benkhald, who is part of a dwindling Jewish community in the Muslim majority-nation of 220 million, had his religion status in his national Pakistani documents corrected from Islam to Judaism in 2017.
Although a statement on his Pakistani passport says the document is valid for travel to all countries except Israel, he is the first Pakistani to have officially performed a pilgrimage there with the permission of Islamabad.
“Food, trade, music and tourism bring people together. Let’s build bridges,” Benkhald said in his tweet.
Benkhald sent food samples to three businesspeople in Jerusalem and Haifa through the United Arab Emirates, where he met them at food exhibitions, according to the Commerce Ministry. The ministry said the shipment was not supported by the Pakistan government and no banking or official channel was involved.
The American Jewish Congress earlier welcomed news of the shipment, saying it could have wider implications for the two countries’ economies and for the region at large. It said Benkhald was at the heart of a small, but growing Pakistani kosher industry exporting food to different destinations.
But there were mixed opinions in Pakistan about Benkhald’s venture. Shireen Mazari, a key leader from ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party and former minister for human rights, criticized the government and asked how a Pakistani citizen was exporting to Israel directly and visiting the country on a Pakistani passport.
But an interfaith representative from the current administration, Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, said Benkhald was permitted to visit Israel during Khan’s tenure.
Rare shipment from Pakistan reaches Israel
An American Jewish organization celebrated the “first shipment” of food supplies from Pakistan that arrived in Israel.
The trade last week included Pakistani-Jewish businessman Fishel BenKhald and three Israeli businesses, according to a statement issued by the American Jewish Congress from its New York offices, reports Voice of America.
BenKhald resides in Karachi, where he manages a Jewish kosher certification business for food makers selling to international markets. Last Tuesday, he announced the unusual trade on Twitter, the VOA report said.
The trader shared a video of his products, which included dates, dried fruit, and spices, on display in a Jerusalem market. The video has subsequently received over 640,000 views.
Read More: India-Bangladesh trade using rupee instead of US dollar could start soon
"I was not expecting it to be taken that big of a deal," BenKhald said in written comments to VOA, adding that this was not the first export of Pakistani products to Israel.
"The Israeli government and buyers have no problem accepting the direct shipment from Pakistan,” he said, adding that Israel does not have a problem sending payments to Pakistani banks, said the report.
BenKhald's attempt was largely lauded by Pakistani Twitter users, who included journalists, politicians, and businesses, some of whom sought his assistance on how to market their products to Israel. He tried to respond to every communication, it added.
Pakistani officials did not immediately comment on the unusual exchange.
Read More: Trade and investment opportunities opening up between Bangladesh, Brazil
Islamabad has no diplomatic relations with Israel and refuses to recognize it as a sovereign state until the state of Palestine is created, a position shared by many Muslim-majority nations.
Nevertheless, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established ties with Israel in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, which were brokered by the United States. Sudan and Morocco followed suit.
"Trade exhibits hosted by the UAE helped Pakistani and Israeli businessmen conclude a deal that enabled this week's Pakistani shipment to Israel," the American Jewish Congress noted. "We welcome this small step that can have wider implications for Israeli and Pakistani economies and for the region at large."
Pakistan is a recognized nuclear power, while Israel is commonly believed to possess nuclear weapons. Since their foreign ministers met publicly in 2005, the two nations have had secret discussions on security matters. Pakistani Islamist organizations and right-wing parties are adamantly opposed to establishing formal relations with Israel over the Palestinian issue, the report also said.
Read More: Traders fined in Faridpur for selling meat in violation of price list
Pakistani people are barred from visiting Israel since their passport plainly states that they are valid for all nations except Israel.
Pakistan militants kill 4 police officers, hurt 6 in attacks
Taliban militants killed four police officers by targeting a police vehicle with a roadside bomb and wounded six in an attack on a police station in northwest Pakistan early Thursday, police and the insurgents said.
The bomb killed four officers in a police vehicle carrying reinforcements sent to respond to the attack on a police station in Lakki Marwat, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Six officers were wounded in the attack at the police station.
Local police officer Ashfaq Khan said a search was underway for the militant suspects who attacked the police station in Lakki Marwat and later targeted the police vehicle with a bomb.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. The group know as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP is separate but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. There has been an uptick in attacks in Pakistan after the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire with the government of Pakistan.
TTP has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 when U.S. and NATO troops were leaving the country after 20 years of war. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuaries in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
Pakistan has seen innumerable militant attacks in the past two decades but there has been an uptick since November, when the TTP ended a monthslong Afghan Taliban-brokered cease-fire with the government of Pakistan.
Pakistan: Police storm Imran Khan home in Lahore, arrest 61
Pakistani police stormed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday and arrested 61 people amid tear gas and clashes between Khan's supporters and police, officials said.
Senior police officer Suhail Sukhera, who led the operation in an upscale Lahore neighborhood, said police acted to remove a barricade erected by members of Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party and his defiant supporters. He said they blocked the lanes around Khan's residence with concrete blocks, felled trees, tents and a parked truck.
Khan was not in the home, having traveled to Islamabad to appear before a judge to face charges he sold state gifts while in office and hid his assets. The judge postponed that hearing until March 30.
Sukhera said baton-wielding Khan supporters attempted to resist police by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails and a man on the roof of Khan's residence opened fire. At least three police officers were injured.
Also Read: Pakistan: Police storm Imran Khan home in Lahore, arrest 30
Sukhera said police broke open the main door of Khan’s residence and found automatic weapons, Molotov cocktails, iron rods and batons used in attacks on police during the week. Sukhera said that inside the sprawling residence, illegal structures had been erected to shelter people involved in attacks on police that have injured dozens of officers.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said later that police would do a complete search of Khan’s home, where they found bunkers and suspected more illegal weapons and ammunition were hidden.
Witnesses in Lahore said police attempted to disperse Khan's supporters by firing tear gas and chased them to several homes in the Zaman Park neighborhood.
Khan's lawyer appeared in an Islamabad court on Saturday after a top court a day earlier suspended Khan's arrest warrant, giving him a reprieve to travel to Islamabad and face charges in the graft case without being detained.
Khan had been holed up at his home in Lahore since Tuesday after failing to appear at an earlier hearing in the case. His supporters hurled rocks and clashed with baton-wielding police for two days to protect the former premier from arrest.
Khan's motorcade arrived Saturday near the federal judicial complex in Islamabad, where his supporters also clashed with police who prevented them from entering the complex. The enraged Khan supporters threw rocks at police who responded by lobbing tear gas canisters to disperse them.Sanaullah said many of Khan's supporters were armed.
Khan's attorney, Babar Awan, filed an application for Khan's exemption from appearance in court amid special circumstances.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar condemned Khan for not turning himself over to police and not appearing in court Saturday despite arriving at the judicial complex gate. He accused Khan of using his protesting supporters to avoid indictment.
Khan’s supporters set two police vehicles and several motorcycles outside the judicial complex on fire while dispersing, according to Tarar.
Khan, during his road trip to Islamabad, said in a video message that police had broken into his residence in Lahore while his wife was alone at the home. He condemned the action and demanded that those responsible be punished.
Khan’s PTI party secretary-general, Asad Umar, in a letter to Pakistan's chief justice noted that police waited until Khan was en route to Islamabad to storm his Lahore residence. He said the “doors and walls have been razed to the ground” and more than 40 people at the home were arrested.
Khan, now the opposition leader, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April. He is accused of selling state gifts while in office and concealing assets, charges he denies. It’s one in a string of cases that the former cricket star turned Islamist politician has been facing since his ouster.
The 70-year-old Khan, who has called for early elections in Parliament, has claimed that his removal from power was part of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Both Washington and Sharif’s government have denied the allegation.