Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan outside his residence in Lahore March 16, 2023. AAMIR QURESHI / AFP
Some calm has returned to Imran Khan’s home in the affluent Lahore suburb of Zaman Park. Supporters of the former Pakistani PM have been on guard since Monday to prevent police from coming to arrest their leader. After two days of violent clashes with security forces near his home and in several towns in Pakistan, the Lahore High Court on Wednesday, March 15, granted Imran Khan a stay and ordered the police and paramilitaries to retreat. Roadblocks and checkpoints have been lifted.
Hours earlier, the one-time cricket star had sent a video of himself sitting in front of the remains of dozens of tear gas canisters that had been fired onto his property and affirming authorities wanted to “kidnap” and “murder” him.
The police want to arrest him in order to force him to appear in court on March 18. He is accused of enriching himself with diplomatic gifts that he received during his tenure as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, which he would not have declared contrary to legal obligations.
“Pure provocation”
This practice is not limited to Imran Khan. According to a list released in the press on Sunday, March 12, all government officials have received valuable gifts as part of their duties for twenty years. It ranges from Rolex watches to luxury cars to a gold and gemstone crown. Pakistani law obliges you to declare the gifts you receive and keep only the cheapest ones.
Imran Khan assures us that he does not want to evade justice, but he requests a videoconference hearing, convinced that the authorities want to assassinate him. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for his part, accuses him of “defying all the country’s courts” and of getting caught up in “pure provocation”.
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This case is just the latest episode in the political war between Imran Khan and his successor that overthrew him in April 2022 after a no-confidence vote. Since his ouster, Imran Khan has claimed to be the victim of a conspiracy organized with the backing of the army and the United States, and has successfully mobilized the streets to call for snap elections. It has never been so popular. Millions of supporters attend his huge rallies. He escaped an assassination attempt in November 2022 when he was shot in the leg during a march against power.
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