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Pakistan’s police have filed terrorism and other charges against Imran Khan and scores of his aides and supporters following clashes Sunday outside the court in Islamabad where he was already due to face charges of selling state gifts and hiding assets, Sky News reported.
Former and current politicians and ministers are among those alongside Khan now facing charges that include attacks on police, obstructing officers, and threatening their lives in the confrontation. The embattled ex-prime minister did not even enter the court, later blaming the police’s use of tear gas against his convoy and supporters, while the judge presiding over the corruption case was compelled to reschedule it to March 30.
The showdown paralleled a similar riot at Khan’s residence in the north-eastern city of Lahore which Pakistani authorities stormed on Saturday while he was already en route to the capital, the Associated Press reported.
Police clashed with Khan’s supporters, many of whom were carrying batons, as well as throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the officers, police said, with one man on the roof of Khan’s home reportedly opening fire at the police. The raid was the culmination of a days-long stand-off between police, seeking to arrest Khan for failing to attend an earlier hearing relating to the corruption charges, and his followers seeking to prevent his arrest.
Officials said at least 50 officers were injured and 61 protesters were arrested. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah added that authorities are conducting a thorough search of Khan’s home, where they have found bunkers, weapons, and ammunition.
The cricket star-turned-politician was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament last year. He has alleged that his removal was part of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the United States. Khan also claimed that his opponents are bent on either putting him behind bars or killing him, and condemned the raid on his home in Lahore as “shameful tactics, conspiracies and plans”.
Washington and Islamabad have denied the allegations.
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