Chaotic scenes in court
Former Pakistani PM Imran Khan arrested
05/09/2023 2:24 p.m
Violent clashes erupted between police and supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan outside a court in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. The 70-year-old, who regularly has to appear in court because of a number of proceedings against him, is arrested.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested at a court hearing on corruption allegations in the capital, Islamabad. “Imran Khan was arrested in the Qadir Trust case,” Islamabad police said on Twitter. She was referring to one of the many pending cases for which the former head of government has to appear regularly in court.
In front of the court, there were sometimes violent clashes between security forces and Kahn supporters.
(Photo: dpa)
Local TV channels showed chaotic scenes outside the court, where hundreds of supporters of Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party clashed with security officials. Shortly before, the military had warned Khan not to make “unfounded allegations”.
The ex-president had again over the weekend accused a senior intelligence officer of involvement in an assassination attempt on him in 2022, in which Khan sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. It is not yet clear whether the 70-year-old was held at the Islamabad Supreme Court or transferred to another location.
Several corruption allegations are pending against Khan. The Pakistani election commission accuses him of having kept government gifts from his time as prime minister for himself. He is said to have sold some and embezzled the profit.
In March, a judge overturned an arrest warrant for Khan after he previously failed to appear for a court hearing and instead retired to his residence in Lahore. Khan describes the criminal prosecution as politically motivated. During his public appearances, Khan supporters regularly clash with political opponents and security forces.
Khan came to power in Pakistan in 2018 on a promise to fight corruption and nepotism. During his reign, however, his relationship with the powerful military that had sustained his rise to power increasingly deteriorated. Almost a year ago, he was overthrown by a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly. Conservative politician Shehbaz Sharif was elected as his successor.