Pakistani authorities say they have served an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Imran Khan at his Lahore residence, ordering him to appear in court on March 7 or face being forced to do so through police actions.
Police arrived early on March 5 at the home of the 70-year-old critic of the current government but said they were thwarted in efforts to seize Khan on the spot after finding his residence surrounded by supporters.
Islamabad police later said that following a room-by-room search of the site, Khan could not be found and that they were told by leaders of Khan’s Tehrik-e Insaf party (PTI) “that Imran Khan is not present at the residence.”
The statement said authorities will take legal action against PTI leader Shibli Faraz in the incident.
“PTI leaders have assured that they will follow the law, so we hope that they will appear in court,” the police tweeted.
It was not immediately clear how police delivered the arrest warrant to Kahn or where he was ahead of the court hearing in a case dubbed Tosha Khana, a reference to the site where officials leave gifts received during foreign trips.
It was also not clear if police had remained at the site following delivery of the arrest warrant.
Khan earlier made an appearance in front of the throngs of backers outside his home in Lahore's swank Zaman Park neighborhood in which he denied guilt and said he'd asked his lawyers to send a letter to Pakistan's chief justice arguing that he is the target of bogus accusations.
He also used the speech to criticize the current government of successor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on financial and other issues.
A court issued an arrest warrant for Khan on February 28 in a case allegedly involving state gifts and concealment of assets from the sale of gifts.
The prosecution of that case and separate charges including in relation to allegations of terrorism and attempted murder against a rival politician have proven hugely divisive, and Khan and his supporters insist they are politically motivated.
Khan has allegedly missed multiple court appearances in the Tosha Khana case.
The Islamabad Police Force said via Twitter as the attempted apprehension proceeded that "all operations are being completed with the cooperation of Lahore Police."
"Legal action will be taken against those obstructing the execution of court orders," the force said.
It vowed in a second tweet that "Islamabad Police will transfer Imran Khan to Islamabad under their protection. Law is equal for all."
Khan, a former international cricketer, headed Pakistan's PTI-led government from 2018-22.
Khan has drawn tens of thousands of Pakistani supporters to recent rallies as a show of popular force against the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which is under intense fiscal pressure that could threaten the South Asian country with bankruptcy.
Sharif's coalition government filed the gifts case against Khan in August 2022, accusing him of not mentioning gifts and money while detailing assets received through the sale of the gifts received while in office.
Pakistan's Election Commission in October disqualified Khan from the National Assembly for providing "false information" about his assets in a proceeding before the court, known as the Tosha Khana case.
Khan said that the accusations against him in the Tosha Khana case are "baseless" and have been made to seek "political revenge."
Khan, whose seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, remains vacant, was ousted in April 2022 through a no-confidence vote. He has accused Sharif of conspiring with the United States to oust him from power. Washington has rejected the accusation, and Khan has never provided any evidence for his claim.
Khan was shot in the leg during a protest rally on November 3 as he was leading a protest march on Islamabad to pressure the government for snap polls.
Khan has cited that injury in acknowledging a failure to appear before the court.