Protests were witnessed in Lahore on Imran Khan’s arrest at his house

The supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan have blocked policemen from reaching his home in Lahore to arrest him, the police are using armoured vehicles fitted with water cannons mid-stone–thrown by supporters of the Prime Minister who is accused of corruption. 

More than hundreds of Mr Khan’s supporters have gathered outside his house after a police team arrived from Islamabad to arrest him on a court order, government spokesman Amir Mir told news agency Reuters. 

Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek – e – Insaaf the PTI workers started the violence, which badly injured several police officials, he said, adding “if Imran Khan ensures his presence in the court, it will be good, otherwise the law will take its course.” 

Amidst the protest, Mr Imran Khan released a video statement, asking people to fight for their rights even if he is jailed or killed “the police have arrived to arrest me they think that if Imran Khan goes to jail, the people will go to sleep. 

You have to prove them wrong, you have to prove that the quam (people) are alive,” Mr Khan said “we have come here just for the compliance of the court order,” Deputy Inspector General Police Syed Shahzad Nadeem told the reporters. 

The PTI workers started throwing stones and bricks at the policemen, and in response, the police directed a water – cannon at them and in some cases batons were charged at them, Syed Shahzad Nadeem said in the report. 

Live TV footage showed the supporters also using a slingshot and forging an attack on the policemen wanting them to back off because they don’t want their favourite leader to get arrested. 

Pakistan’s election commission in October last year found the 70 – year old cricketer – turned – politician guilty of unlawfully selling gifts from foreign dignitaries. 

The Federal Investigation Agency then filed charges against him in anti–corruption court, which last week issued the arrest warrant after Mr Khan failed to appear in court despite repeated summons. 

Mr Khan has been demanding a snap election since his ouster from office in a parliamentary vote last year, a demand that was rejected by his successor Shehbaz Sharif, who has said the vote would be held as scheduled later this year. 

Photographs of empty gun cartridges, allegedly fired by the police, have spread on social media platforms. Protests have spread across major cities in Pakistan including Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, and Rawalpindi after Khan urged his supporters to continue to fight against the government. 

Meanwhile, Islamabad Deputy Inspector General (DIG) (Operations) Shahzad Bukhari said that there are outstanding warrants for Imran Khan’s arrest. Imran Khan also said that the “real intent” of the Islamabad police is not to arrest him but to “abduct and assassinate” him. 

His allegation follows an overnight siege of his Zaman Park residence in Lahore after clashes between Khan’s supporters and the police who arrived to arrest him. 

Imran Khan is willing to give a surety bond that he will appear in court on Saturday he said in a video shared on his social media handles. 

“I am mentally prepared that I am going to be spending my night in a cell,” he said on Tuesday “I don’t know how many nights, but I am all prepared for that”, the former Prime Minister showed what he said were tear gas canisters, which he said had been fired into his property. 

Government Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the move had nothing to do with the elections and that police were only complying with court orders to arrest him in corruption cases. She claimed that Mr Khan was using his party workers, women and children as a human shield to evade arrest and stroke unrest. 

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