Pakistan police postpone arrest of Imran Khan

A Pakistan court yesterday ordered police to suspend an operation to arrest former Prime Minister Imran Khan, bringing a halt to pitched battles in which police baton-charged supporters of the former cricketer and fired water cannon and tear gas.

Security forces withdrew from around his home in the eastern city of Lahore, easing political instability in the nuclear-armed nation which is struggling with an economic crisis and awaiting an International Monetary Fund bailout.

The Lahore High Court ordered police to postpone their efforts to arrest Khan until today, provincial information minister Amir Mir told Reuters.

The PTI had also petitioned the Islamabad High Court, seeking the cancellation of the non-bailable arrest warrant. The court dismissed the plea, asking Khan to submit an undertaking to a lower court that he would appear before it on March 18.

A senior police official said security forces had withdrawn to accommodate cricket's Pakistan Super League (PSL), the country's top sporting event, which is being held at a stadium a few km (miles) away.

The situation remained calm but tense outside Khan's residence, as PTI supporters celebrated being able to prevent Khan's arrest for a second straight day.

The operation to arrest Khan came after a lower court in the capital Islamabad issued a warrant against him for defying orders to present himself in court over charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries when he was prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

In a tweet, Khan said he had signed a "surety bond" that would guarantee his appearance in the court by a March 18 deadline, and senior aide Fawad Chaudhry said Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had asked the court to stop the police action.

"The reason why this is happening is not because I broke any law. They want me in jail so that I cannot contest elections," Khan told AFP after police called off the siege of his residence.

According to a list shared by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb last year, the gifts given to Khan include seven watches, including one valued at 85 million rupees (about $300,000).

The list also contained perfumes, diamond jewellery and dinner sets. Khan has denied wrongdoing.

The legal proceedings against Khan began after he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote early last year. Since then, he has held nationwide protest rallies demanding a snap election, during one of which he was shot and wounded.

Current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected Khan's demands, saying the election will be held as scheduled later this year.

Political infighting is common in Pakistan, where no prime minister has yet fulfilled a full term and where the military has ruled for nearly half of the country's history.