Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan collect with sticks close to the Khan’s residence, in Lahore on March 17, 2023.
| Picture Credit score: AP
Ousted premier Imran Khan will seem earlier than a Pakistani court docket in Lahore on March 17, 2023 and supply an assurance that he was able to current himself on Saturday earlier than the decide dealing with a corruption case towards him.
Mr. Khan, the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, has been resisting arrest within the Toshakhana case and is holed up inside his Zaman Park residence surrounded by lots of of his supporters, who’ve fought pitched battles with the police and Rangers over the previous few days.
“Imran Khan will come to the Lahore Excessive Courtroom himself and guarantee the decide that he’s able to go to the Islamabad court docket,” PTI chief Fawad Chaudhry advised media individuals on Friday, including that “an enterprise has additionally been given to the court docket”.
Further District and Classes Choose in Islamabad Zafar Iqbal had re-issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Mr. Khan on February 28 and directed the capital metropolis police to convey him to court docket by March 18.
Whereas listening to the case, the decide remarked that Khan ought to give up unconditionally earlier than looking for any favour from the court docket.
Mr. Khan has skipped a number of hearings within the case.
Choose Iqbal on Monday re-issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khan and directed the police to convey him to court docket by March 18.
Nonetheless, when the police reached Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore to arrest him on Tuesday, they have been met with resistance, resulting in two-day pitched battles between PTI supporters and legislation enforcement companies. The clashes finally subsided after the courts intervened on Wednesday.
Forward of the listening to in LHC on Friday, Mr. Chaudhry tweeted that each events had “agreed to resolve the problems” and the agreed resolution will likely be offered in court docket.
Mr. Khan has been within the crosshairs for purchasing presents, together with an costly Graff wristwatch he had obtained because the premier at a reduced value from the state depository referred to as Toshakhana, and promoting them for revenue.
Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a division underneath the executive management of the Cupboard Division and shops valuable presents given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officers by heads of different governments and states and international dignitaries.
In line with Mr. Khan, he was going through over 80 totally different circumstances in varied courts throughout Pakistan.
Mr. Khan was ousted from energy in April final yr after shedding a no-confidence vote, which he alleged was a part of a US-led conspiracy focusing on him due to his unbiased international coverage choices on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
Since his ouster, Mr. Khan has been asking for early elections to oust what he termed an “imported authorities” led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Mr. Sharif has maintained that elections will likely be held later this yr as soon as the parliament completes its five-year tenure.