A Pakistani judge has dropped an arrest warrant against former Prime Minister Imran Khan after he traveled to court in Islamabad to comply with an official order that he appear.
Khan traveled to the court on March 18 amid heavy security as police stormed his home in Lahore and after he said he expected to be arrested in a standoff with the government that has sparked clashes with his supporters.
Khan traveled more than 300 kilometers from Lahore to the Islamabad in a motorcade, but thousands of supporters mobbed the court complex and Khan, 70, was unable to get out of his car. He gave notice to District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal, and the judge accepted Khan's presence, took his signature, and allowed him to return home.
"The court has canceled the arrest warrant after marking Imran Khan's attendance. The hearing has been adjourned till March 30," Gohar Khan, a lawyer for Khan, told AFP.
Khan had been due to answer charges of unlawfully selling state gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries during his time in office.
Security was tight around the judicial complex, and some of Khan's supports tried to enter the court premises but were stopped by authorities, according to media reports.
Referring to the clashes between police and Khan supporters, the judge said it was not possible to hear the case.
Meanwhile, senior police officer Suhail Sukhera, who led the operation at Khan's home in Lahore, said police acted to remove a barricade erected by members of Khan's political party, Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI). He said they piled concrete blocks, felled trees, erected tents, and parked a truck to block lanes around Khan's residence.
Sukhera said 61 people were arrested as Khan supporters attempted to resist police by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails, and a man on the roof of Khan's residence opened fire. At least three police officers were injured.
Sukhera said police broke down the main door of Khan’s residence and found automatic weapons, Molotov cocktails, iron rods, and batons used in attacks on police during the week.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said later that police would conduct a complete search of Khan's home.
Earlier this week, the Lahore High Court ruled that a police operation be paused after followers of PTI, gathered outside Khan's residence in Lahore on March 14 and battled with police.
Since his ouster last April in a no-confidence vote, Khan has repeatedly ignored arrest warrants and court summons in a string of cases against him, claiming they are a plot by the government led by his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif has insisted Khan's arrest was ordered by a court and was not political.
Two courts in Islamabad on March 13 issued arrest warrants for Khan over his failure to appear before judges in a case involving accusations that Khan has concealed details of gifts received while he was prime minister in his asset declarations, and in a terrorism case.
Khan has failed to attend indictment hearings three times in the gifts case.
Maryam Sharif, a top leader in Sharif's ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, criticized Khan on March 17 for resisting arrest and lauded the security forces for their restraint.
“The state can arrest him in five minutes, but it exercised restraint to avoid bloodshed,” she said.
Khan, who was shot and wounded while campaigning in November, said in the interview with Reuters that the threat to his life is greater than before and asserted without evidence that his political opponents and the military want to block him from standing in elections later this year.