Pakistan police arrest dozens of supporters of former PM Imran Khan
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 [March 20, 2023]
By Mubasher Bukhari and Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Police in Pakistan have arrested
dozens of supporters and aides of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in
raids in two cities as part of a crackdown on those involved in recent
clashes with the security forces, Khan's party and police said on
Monday.
Supporters of Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), clashed
with police in the city of Lahore last week as they attempted to arrest
him at his home, and later with police in Islamabad as he arrived to
appear before a court on Saturday.
"Around 285 PTI supporters have been arrested in Lahore and Islamabad.
Houses of all major leaders were raided by police last night," Khan's
aide, Fawad Chaudhry, told Reuters.
Khan, a former cricket star, was prime minister from 2018 until 2022,
when he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote. Since then he
has been demanding a snap election and holding protest rallies across
the country to press his case.
His successor as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has rejected his demand
and said an election would be held as scheduled later this year.
Khan, 70, is facing several legal cases, including one that prompted a
failed attempt to arrest him on Tuesday after a court issued warrants
for his arrest for not appearing before it.
Clashes between Khan's supporters and the security forces have brought a
new round of political chaos to Pakistan, which is in the midst of a
crippling economic crisis.
Khan says the government and the powerful military are trying to stop
him from contesting the next election, scheduled for November. If
convicted in a case, Khan could face disqualification from the polls.
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A supporter of former Pakistani Prime
Minister Imran Khan, walks with a riot shield used by the police,
during a clash outside the federal judicial complex in Islamabad,
Pakistan March 18, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
Both the government and military deny this.
Police in both Lahore and Islamabad confirmed the raids and the
arrest of PTI workers they said were involved in clashes with police
and arson.
"Police are raiding the houses because seven cases on various
charges, including terrorism, have been registered against the
leaders and workers," Lahore police chief Bilal Kamiana told Reuters
referring to the clashes with police.
He said 125 activists had been arrested in Lahore, including some
last week.
In Islamabad, a police spokesman 198 PTI supporters had been
arrested in connection with arson and attacks on police in which 58
people were injured and more than a dozen vehicles, including some
police cars, were set ablaze.
More raids were being carried out, the spokesman said.
He said police had also gone to the home of a sitting PTI senator,
Shibli Faraz, with a search warrant, but the senator was not home.
Khan, remembered by many for his success as a cricket player and
later for his charity work, won considerable support among sections
of the electorate with his conservative, nationalistic policies.
(Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore and Gibran Peshimam in
Islamabad; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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