Pakistani police arrest scores more Imran Khan supporters
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani police on Monday arrested scores more supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan for attacking officers over the weekend outside an Islamabad court where the ousted premier was to appear on graft charges, officials said.
The arrests were the latest amid legal cases facing Khan, now opposition leader, since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April. The standoff between the 70-year-old former cricket player turned Islamist politician, and the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, has turned increasingly violent.
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 fire bombs and hurled rocks at the officers as riot police wielded batons and fired tear gas. More than than 50 officers were injured and 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 petrol bombs, weapons and ammunition after clashing with his supporters.
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.
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, 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.