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Pakistan court suspends ex-PM Imran Khan's arrest warrant

The warrant relates to his non-appearance in an Islamabad court to answer a case brought by the country's election body, which accused him of not declaring gifts received during his time as premier.

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After the suspension of arrest warrant, Imran Khan's lawyers say the former Pakistan prime minister will appear in the court on March 18.

An arrest warrant for former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has been suspended, his lawyers said, clearing the way for him to end a holdout at his residence that led to bloody clashes between supporters and police earlier this week.

Khan was ousted by a no-confidence vote last year and has been snarled in dozens of legal cases as he campaigns for early elections and a return to office.

The warrant relates to his non-appearance in an Islamabad court to answer a case brought by the Election Commission of Pakistan accusing him of not declaring gifts received during his time as premier, or the profit made from selling them.

Attempts by police this week to arrest the 70-year-old former international cricket star in the eastern city of Lahore led to pitched battles with supporters outside his home.

After a day of legal wrangling in courts in both cities on Friday, the arrest warrant was suspended.

"The Islamabad High Court has suspended non-bailable arrest warrant," said Faisal Chaudhry, a senior member of Khan's legal team.

"Now Imran will appear in the court tomorrow," he said.

After the warrant was lifted, Khan left his home for the first time in days to appear in court in Lahore in a case related to this week's clashes.

Dozens of supporters mobbed his convoy as it slowly exited the compound, cheering and waving flags of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Dozens of supporters of Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan put up barricades outside his residence to prevent police from arresting him pic.twitter.com/CUge4J5GCl
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 17, 2023

Overnight clashes

Overnight on Tuesday police and paramilitary rangers clashed repeatedly with PTI supporters in the plush Zaman Park neighbourhood, firing fusillades of teargas and dodging rocks thrown by angry crowds.

Since then, PTI supporters have kept a vigil outside his home, wary of police returning to arrest him.

Khan says he fears for his life if detained, and that authorities want him jailed to prevent him from contesting an election that must be held by October this year.

"We have serious reservations about his security," Shibli Faraz, Khan's chief of staff, said Friday.

As the political drama unfolds, Pakistan is in the grip of a stark economic downturn, risking default if help cannot be secured from the International Monetary Fund.

The security situation is also deteriorating with a spate of deadly attacks on police, linked to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or popularly referred to as the Pakistani Taliban.

Khan has been pressuring the coalition government that replaced him, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with popular rallies and daily addresses broadcast on social media.

Last year Khan was shot in the leg during a political rally, an assassination bid he blamed on Sharif and some other serving government officials.