Clashes erupted on the night of Tuesday March 14 to Wednesday March 15 between police and supporters of former Pakistani minister Imran Khan in Lahore (east), where he remains entrenched in his home, defying attempts at arrest.
Although he remains very popular and hopes to return to power in legislative elections scheduled for October, Imran.
Khan was overthrown in April 2022 by a motion of no confidence and has since faced a host of legal proceedings.
Police fought pitched battles with militants of his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI, Pakistan Justice Movement), near his residence in Zaman Park throughout the night, firing gas tear gas and dodging the stones thrown by the angry crowd.
This is the second time this month that police have been dispatched from the capital Islamabad to Imran Khan's home in Lahore to execute an arrest warrant, after he evaded several court summonses , citing security concerns.
"We are just here to execute the arrest warrant and arrest him
," Syed Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari, a senior Islamabad police official, told reporters outside Imran Khan's house.
Diplomatic gifts
The police were greeted at the former head of government's home by hundreds of his party activists, some waving sticks and throwing stones, draped in red and green PTI flags.
Police used water cannons to try to disperse the crowd and gain access to the building.
Imran Khan, 70, has been summoned to court to answer charges that he failed to declare all diplomatic gifts received under his tenure and made money by reselling some of them.
The first attempt to arrest the former cricket champion had failed because he was
"reluctant to surrender"
, the police explained without further details.
