Pakistan police have raided the Lahore home of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan who is on his way to the capital, Islamabad, for a court appearance.
Khan was summoned by the court in relation to a state gift case in which he is set to be indicted on Saturday. Soon after his departure from Lahore, police in the capital of the Punjab province carried out the raid at his residence.
Khan, chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, condemned the raid and said it was carried out while his wife Bushra Begum was alone at home.
“Punjab police have led an assault on my house in Zaman Park where Bushra Begum is alone. Under what law are they doing this? This is part of London Plan where commitments were made to bring absconder Nawaz Sharif to power as quid pro quo for agreeing to one appointment,” Khan tweeted.
Footage from Lahore showed police breaking the gate of Khan’s residence on Saturday after they faced resistance by PTI supporters. A tweet shared by his party showed police using batons to target the supporters.
Khan’s appearance in an Islamabad court was ensured after a dramatic few days earlier this week when police launched a two-day operation at his residence to arrest him due to non-appearance.
Clashes between police and PTI workers marked Khan’s arrival at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad amid heavy security.
TV footage showed heavy shelling. Chief of Islamabad Police, Akbar Nasir Khan, claimed that PTI workers threw stones and fired shells at the police “without any provocation”.
The official said that police responded by using tear gas on the workers.
“PTI chief Imran Khan’s journey so far was peaceful and pleasant. Police continued to show restraint but as soon as his convoy came close to the court, stones were pelted at the police,” he said.
Sharing visuals of shelling, PTI countered the claim in a tweet, saying police is trying to create “chaos”.
--- extract from AlJazeera
