Pakistan's ex-PM Khan to ask court to halt police arrest warrant

AFP

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan plans to go to court on Friday to support a plea he made to halt a police operation to arrest him for failing to attend a hearing, an aide said.

Khan would soon go to a court in the city of Lahore to "support his plea against his arrest warrant and police action", the aide, Fawad Chaudhry, told Reuters.

The legal proceedings against the former cricket star began after he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote early last year.

Since then, Khan, 70, has been demanding a snap election and holding protests across the country. He was shot and wounded at one of those rallies.

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

The political wrangling comes as nuclear-armed Pakistan struggles with an economic crisis. It is awaiting a bailout package of $1.1 billion from the IMF.

The warrant for Khan's arrest was issued by a court in the capital, Islamabad, when he failed to appear over charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries when he was prime minister from 2018 to 2022. Khan denies the charges.

The Election Commission of Pakistan had found Khan guilty and barred him from holding public office for one parliamentary term.

Attempts to arrest Khan for failing to show up for the case have this week triggered angry outburts by his supporters who hurled petrol bombs at the security forces who responded with tear gas and water cannon.

More from International News

  • Thousands of Australians without power as cyclone Alfred hits

    Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia's Queensland state were without power on Sunday after Alfred, a downgraded tropical cyclone, brought damaging winds and heavy rains, sparking flood warnings.

  • Israeli airstrike kills two in southern Gaza

    An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, medical sources said, as mediators pushed ahead with talks to extend a shaky 42-day ceasefire agreed in January between Israel and Hamas.

  • 12 people injured in Toronto pub shooting

    Toronto Police said early on Saturday they were searching for three male suspects in a shooting that injured at least 12 people at a pub in the Canadian city.

  • Cyclone Alfred downgraded as millions stay indoors

    Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred lingered off the south-east Australian coast on Saturday and forecasters said Brisbane is likely to miss the worst of the storm, a relief for millions of residents in the region who have been staying indoors.

Coming Up

  • Dubai 92 Chilled

    Midnight - 1:00am

  • Non Stop 92

    1:00am - 6:00am