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Ex-Pakistani PM appears before court amid violent clashes

Saturday, 18 March 2023 11:37 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 19 March 2023 2:14 AM ]

Nasir Kazmi
Press TV, Islamabad

It has been a day of high-voltage political drama in Pakistan as police used tear gas against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's supporters who wanted to protect their leader from possible police arrest.

Clashes erupted between the police and political supporters of Imran Khan when he reached the capital Islamabad along with his convoy from eastern city of Lahore.

Following days of violent clashes in Lahore, Khan arrived in Islamabad to appear before a court about a state gift case in which he was set to be indicted on Saturday. However, court proceedings could not go ahead amid ruckus and violent clashes between police and protesters who were trying to enter the premises along with their leader Imran Khan.

Khan says he is being summoned for “fake cases” and that his life is under threat. Earlier in the day, police raided Khan’s residence soon after he departed from Lahore, and arrested several of his supporters along with weapons.

Khan's opponents hold him responsible for the ongoing chaotic situation in the country, saying that the government should deal with his PTI party as a terrorist organization.

Khan has been attempting to disrupt Pakistan's politics since he was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April last year. Experts believe that the country’s political atmosphere would be more charged and violent if the government tries to arrest the former PM.

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