Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expects to be arrested on his way to court on Saturday to face corruption charges, after days of legal wrangling and clashes between his supporters and police.
“
I am going to the Islamabad court right now.
I want to tell everyone they've come up with a plan to arrest me
,” Khan said in a video message sent from the highway.
Ousted from power in April 2022 following a motion of no confidence, Khan has since pressured the fragile coalition government that replaced him to hold early elections.
And he claims to be at the center of a plot to prevent him from running in the elections scheduled for October.
Entangled in a series of legal cases, a frequent risk for opposition figures, the 70-year-old former cricket champion was summoned to court in the Pakistani capital on Saturday to face corruption charges.
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At the same time, some 4,000 security personnel, including elite police commandos and counter-terrorism squads, were deployed around Islamabad.
Hospitals have been placed on high alert.
Police also raided Khan's house, located in an affluent area of eastern Lahore, after blocking nearby roads and suspending mobile phone services in the area.
“
The attack on my house was not intended to bring me to court in Islamabad.
The goal was to put me in jail
,” Khan continued.
Earlier this week, clashes erupted between his supporters gathered outside his home and the police sent to arrest him.
A court eventually ordered law enforcement to stand down and Khan promised to go to court on Saturday, after repeatedly refusing over security concerns.
