Pak HC refuses to suspend Imran Khan's arrest warrant, tells him to go trial court

The Pakistan high court on Wednesday refused to suspend Imran Khan's arrest warrant in a corruption case and ordered the former prime minister to go to the trial court with his petition.

Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has been in the crosshairs for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a discounted price from the State depository called Toshakhana and selling them for profit.

On March 13, additional district and sessions judge Zafar Iqbal issued an arrest warrant for Imran and instructed the police to present him before the courts on March 18.

Khan, the 70-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician who has been recovering from a gunshot injury from an assassination attempt in Wazirabad last year, has skipped indictment hearings in this case.

Islamabad high court Chief Justice Amir Farooq ordered Khan to present the petition in the trial court and refused to suspend the arrest warrant.

Lahore's Zaman Park area has turned into a battleground after 70-year-old Khan's defiant supporters engaged in pitched battles with policemen on Tuesday to stop them from arresting their leader in the Toshakhana case, resulting in injuries on both sides.

Meanwhile, following a Lahore high court order, the police and other law enforcers withdrew from Khan's home on Wednesday, putting a halt to clashes that had erupted after police tried to arrest him for not appearing in court in the Toshakhana case.

According to Khan, he was facing over 80 different cases in various courts across Pakistan.

Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.

Since his ouster, Khan has been asking for early elections to oust what he termed an "imported government" led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharif has maintained that elections will be held later this year once the parliament completes its five-year tenure.