A Pakistan court has dismissed the petition of former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking suspension of his arrest warrant, after violent clashes near his home this week prevented security officials from detaining him.
(Bloomberg) — A Pakistan court has dismissed the petition of former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking suspension of his arrest warrant, after violent clashes near his home this week prevented security officials from detaining him.
“The judgment means Khan can be arrested now,” his lawyer, Sher Afzal Marwat, told reporters outside a district court in Islamabad. The court rejected Khan’s petition on the grounds that it was “not justified by law as well as fact.”
Thursday’s development comes hours after the Lahore High Court suspended any further police action against Khan until Friday. The former cricket star is facing multiple court cases, which he says are politically motivated and designed to keep him out of elections later this year.
Khan plans to challenge the verdict in a higher court, his aide, Shibli Faraz, said. The former prime minister has told the court he will appear on March 18.
For two days, security forces and Khan’s supporters have clashed near his home in the city of Lahore. Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds trying to block the former prime minister’s arrest.
The street battles and legal tussles to bring Khan to court have threatened to overshadow the country’s economic crisis. Pakistan’s dollar bonds due 2024 were indicated inching 0.1 cents higher to 42.1 cents on the dollar, after tumbling by the most since September on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has denied that the court cases are related to elections, saying his focus is on securing loans from the International Monetary Fund to help Pakistan avoid a default. While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he dismissed any suggestion that political friction is causing delays in reviving the bailout program.
“We have accepted all the conditions – very tough conditions set by the IMF,” Sharif said when asked about the delay in the deal. “I hope the staff level agreement will be signed very soon and it will be sent to the IMF board.”
Sharif has rejected Khan’s demands to hold snap polls and has said elections will be held from September and October onwards as he wants to focus on the economy first. Khan has said the court cases filed against him are a move to silence him and break his popularity.
The latest arrest warrant, issued last week, is in relation to allegations that Khan failed to disclose funds obtained from the sale of state gifts when he was in power. Khan has denied wrongdoing.
Most Popular
Despite the dozens of court cases leveled against Khan, he remains the most popular politician in Pakistan, according to an opinion survey published last week. His rallies draw tens of thousands of people at any one time, but Khan has said he faces threats to his life and the court cases expose him further.
Khan has been largely confined to his home in Lahore since he was shot and wounded in the leg during a rally in November. He has asked that all the court hearings be carried out in a high-security judicial complex in Islamabad.
Prime Minister Sharif has become deeply unpopular among voters, who blame his coalition for the nation’s economic crisis. The Pakistani rupee has plummeted to new lows and inflation is hovering at a record high.
His government has been forced to raise energy prices and taxes as it races to meet conditions to revive a loan with the IMF. They need to avoid a default that can make borrowing costs higher and cut off market access to credit.
–With assistance from Ismail Dilawar and Khalid Qayum.
(Updates with more details)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.