Pakistan police fail to arrest former PM Imran Khan after 10 hours of clashes with supporters

Police in the eastern city of Lahore planned to serve the 71-year-old opposition leader with a warrant to appear in court on corruption charges

From inside his home, Khan sent out messages on Twitter urging his followers to ‘prove them wrong’ and fight on, even if he is arrested

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Riot police clash with supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan outside his house in Lahore on Tuesday. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Published: 10:05am, 15 Mar 2023Updated: 10:16pm, 15 Mar 2023

Pakistani police scuffled with supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan for 10 hours on Tuesday as officers arrived outside his home to arrest him for failing to appear in court on corruption charges, police and officials said.

Police in the eastern city of Lahore planned to serve Khan with a warrant to appear in court later this week. They fired tear gas at the house as the 71-year-old opposition leader’s supporters hurled rocks and bricks at the officers.

After 10 hours of clashes, police were no closer to arresting the former leader and officers moved back at midnight as the number of Khan’s supporters grew.

About a dozen police and some 35 of Khan’s supporters were reported injured. Tear gas shells and pieces of bricks littered the pavement as Khan’s followers fought back with batons they had brought to resist police.

Supporters of Imran Khan set up a burning barricade outside his residence in Lahore on Tuesday as they confront police seeking his arrest. Photo: EPA-EFE

Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April last year, was ordered to appear before a judge in Islamabad on Friday to answer charges of illegally selling state gifts he had received during his term as prime minister and concealing his assets.