Pakistan Rangers retreat from Imran Khan's residence after court order; celebration among his supporters
The Hindu
Former Pakistan PM gets temporary relief from arrest after the Lahore High Court directs officials to stop the operation at his residence till 10 a.m. today; Imran says the arrest warrant is an attempt to prevent him from contesting elections
In a temporary relief for Imran Khan, a Pakistani court on Wednesday ordered the police to stop its operation outside the former Prime Minister's residence in Lahore to arrest him in a corruption case, amidst clashes between the security personnel and his supporters.
The Zaman Park in Lahore where Mr. Khan lives remained under siege for the last two days and the government sent the elite Rangers to aid police teams who struggled on Tuesday to muscle their way through a ring of enraged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) supporters to arrest party chairman Mr. Khan.
The police, with their riot gear on, closed in on Mr. Khan's home to comply with the court orders to arrest the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician in the Toshakhana case.
However, the police withdrew from the area after the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered them to stop their operation at Zaman Park till 10 a.m. on Thursday.
The LHC summoned the Punjab inspector-general, chief secretary and Islamabad police (operations) head on a petition filed by PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry seeking order for the government to stop the police action at Khan’s residence.
Mr. Khan's party on Tuesday challenged the police operation in the Lahore High Court, requesting it to direct the government to end its bid to arrest the party chief.
"IGP Punjab Dr Usman Anwar appeared before the court and told it that police had to launch the operation as Islamabad police had brought an arrest warrant for Imran Khan in the Toshakhana gifts case. We had to implement this order under the law. He said some 59 policemen have been injured during the clashes with the PTI workers," a court official told PTI.