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Pakistani opposition leaders have warned that the authorities would cross a ‘red line’ if they dare to proceed with the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of treason for his comments on the judiciary.
Ousted on April 10 by a vote of no confidence, Khan has since held large rallies across the country to put pressure on the fragile ruling coalition.
On Monday, hundreds of people gathered outside his home near the capital Islamabad, apparently to prevent police access, as the former cricket star has been fighting a series of accusations for months but has so far not been detained.
On Monday there was a discreet police presence outside Khan’s residence, where some 500 of his supporters gathered. Among them was Muhammad Ayub, who traveled overnight from Peshawar in the northwest to support the former prime minister. “We will protest and block the roads if Khan is arrested,” he told AFP.
A preliminary report was filed with the police on Sunday, the first step in a process that could lead to formal charges being filed and his arrest.
As a precautionary measure, Mr. Khan’s lawyers on Monday managed to get the Islamabad High Court to grant them pre-arrest bail until at least Thursday.
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) party called the latest accusations against its leader “unfounded”.
Mr. Khan’s main objective is to secure an early general election, but the government has shown no signs of doing so, despite facing major economic problems.
Imran Khan was elected in 2018 on a promise to stamp out corruption. But popular support for him has since eroded in the face of economic hardship.
Under his watch, the country’s economic indicators plummeted, and the International Monetary Fund suspended a $6 billion loan program, which the new government has recently restarted.
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