Fmr Pak PM Imran Khan not found at residence as cops arrive for arrest: Report

Police in Pakistan claimed on Sunday that officers attempted to arrest former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is fighting various legal charges and pressuring the government to hold early elections.

Authorities from Islamabad came at Mr Khan’s Lahore residence, which was mobbed by hundreds of his followers, but they were unable to locate him.

“A team of Islamabad police has arrived in Lahore to arrest Imran Khan to comply with the court orders,” Islamabad police said in a tweet.

“Imran Khan is reluctant to surrender — the Superintendent of Police had gone into the room but Imran Khan was not present there.”

While the arrest drama unfolded, Imran Khan convened a meeting with his legal team around 2.30pm, according to a report. Imran Khan spoke to the media in the evening and stated that his legal team will write to the chief justice for a public hearing in the Toshakhana issue.

Amid this, the former Pakistan PM took to Twitter and said, “What future can a country have when crooks are thrust as rulers upon it? SS was about to be convicted by NAB for ₹8 bn money laundering & by FIA for another ₹16 bn corruption when he was rescued by Gen Bajwa who kept getting NAB cases trial postponed. While under trial he was made PM. He has since proceeded to select heads of those institutions investigating his cases – first FIA & now NAB – simply to get his name permanently cleared in ₹16 bn corruption & ₹8 bn money laundering cases against him. This is how a country becomes a banana republic.”

On February 28, the former Prime Minister was scheduled to be charged in the Toshakhana case, but his attorneys requested that he be excused from appearing since he had many other court appearances. However, the judge dismissed Imran’s plea and issued a non-bailable arrest warrant. The indictment of the 70-year-old lawmaker has previously been postponed, according to a report.