Heavily-guarded former Pakistan PM Imran Khan is mobbed by supporters amid chaotic scenes outside court as he faces terrorism charges
- Court in Islamabad has granted Khan week-long bail in two new terrorism cases
- His standoff with Pakistan’s new PM Shahbaz Sharif turned increasingly violent
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan was surrounded by supporters outside court as he faces terrorism charges.
The court has granted Khan a week-long bail in two new cases in which he faces terrorism charges, after Khan’s standoff with the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, has turned increasingly violent in recent days.
In the latest terrorism cases, Khan is accused of inciting people to violence when he travelled to Islamabad last Saturday, March 18, to face indictment in a corruption case.
His followers clashed with police outside the court and Khan didn’t appear before the judge in the corruption case. The case was postponed until later in March.
The ruling for the week-long bail gave the embattled opposition leader another brief reprieve from arrest and he was cheered on by his supporters as he entered and left the court in Lehore surrounded by protective gear and police on March 21.
The court has granted Khan (pictured centre) a week-long bail in two new cases in which he faces terrorism charges, after Khan’s standoff with the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, has turned increasingly violent in recent days
In the latest terrorism cases, Khan is accused of inciting people to violence when he travelled to Islamabad last Saturday, March 18, to face indictment in a corruption case (pictured: Khan’s supporters surrounding his car after his court appearance on March 21)
Since his removal in a no-confidence vote in parliament last April, the 70-year-old former cricket player turned Islamist politician has become embroiled in a series of legal cases against him, including on terrorism charges and corruption while in office.
Another terrorism case against Khan relates to a rally last year when he verbally threatened a female judge.
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Khan denies all charges against him, saying he is being victimised by Mr Sharif’s government.
After Tuesday’s ruling by a court in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, a close Khan associate repeated those claims.
Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader in Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf party, said the terrorism charges were ‘politically motivated’.
Since the latest violence on Saturday, police have arrested hundreds of Khan’s supporters for attacking police in Islamabad and also in Lahore, where his followers clashed for two days with officers last week when police first attempted to arrest him.
Since he was wounded in November in a shooting while leading a rally – when a gunman sprayed his vehicle and entourage with bullets – Khan has also insisted there are plots to assassinate him. That attack killed one of his supporters and wounded 13.
On Monday, March 20, Pakistani police arrested scores more supporters of Khan for attacking officers over the weekend outside the Islamabad court where the ousted premier was to appear on graft charges, officials said.
Meanwhile, a rocket hit a vehicle carrying Khan supporters in the country’s northwest, killing 10 people.
Monday’s arrests bring the total number of Khan’s followers detained in Islamabad to 198 since Saturday, when 59 were arrested in the Pakistani capital.
Khan’s followers threw firebombs and hurled rocks at the officers as riot police wielded batons and fired tear gas. More than 50 officers were injured and at a police checkpoint, several cars and motorcycles were torched.
Also on Saturday, police stormed Khan’s residence in the eastern city of Lahore, arrested 61 suspects there and seized Molotov cocktails, weapons and ammunition after clashing with his supporters.
His followers clashed with police outside the court and Khan didn’t appear before the judge in the corruption case
The case was postponed until later in March. The ruling for the week-long bail gave the embattled opposition leader another brief reprieve from arrest (pictured: Khan’s supporters surrounding his car after his court appearance on March 21)
Since his removal in a no-confidence vote in parliament last April, the 70-year-old former cricket player turned Islamist politician has become embroiled in a series of legal cases against him, including on terrorism charges and corruption while in office (pictured: Khan’s supporters outside the court in Lehore on March 21)
Another terrorism case against Khan relates to a rally last year when he verbally threatened a female judge (pictured: Khan’s supporters outside the court in Lehore on March 21)
Khan was not at home, having traveled to Islamabad for the court appearance on charges he had sold state gifts received while in office and concealed assets. After he failed to appear before the Islamabad court, the judge postponed that hearing until March 30.
READ MORE – From partying playboy to pious PM: As Imran Khan cheats death, how the cricket star ditched London nightclubs (and his many glamorous girlfriends) to become a devout leader of Pakistan
Earlier last week, Khan’s residence in Lahore was the scene of two days of clashes between police and his followers when officers attempted to arrest Khan. The warrant was later suspended.
On Sunday, March 19, police in Islamabad filed charges against Khan, 17 of his aides and scores of supporters, accusing them of terrorism and offenses related to the clashes in Islamabad the previous day.
Police have also charged those arrested later with the same charges. Among the detained is Hassan Niazi, a nephew of Khan, police said in a statement.
Khan denies any wrongdoing and has claimed that his ouster was a conspiracy by Sharif’s government and Washington. Both Sharif and the United States have dismissed the allegations.
Khan has also claimed there are plots to assassinate him since he was wounded last November in a shooting attack while leading a rally, when a gunman sprayed Khan’s vehicle and entourage with bullets. That attack killed one of Khan’s supporters and wounded 13.
On Monday, Khan claimed his scheduled court appearance Saturday in Islamabad was another such plot and promised to provide details later.
‘I will expose how I almost walked into a death trap & the plot to kill me in the Judicial Complex,’ he tweeted.
Khan in a video message on Monday said he didn’t go to the judicial complex on Saturday to avoid a possible attack.
He did not back up his claim and said the government was behind the plot to kill him to avoid a possible defeat in the next parliamentary elections, which are due later this year.
He demanded to be allowed to face court cases via video links to avoid any further attack on him.
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