Protests in Pakistan after arrest warrant issued for Khan

THOUSANDS of people came out on roads across Pakistan yesterday to protest after a court issued an arrest warrant against Imran Khan, the former premier, for threatening a female judge.

Supporters of the cricketing legend formed a human chain around his Banigala residence in Islamabad, eyewitnesses said. He was last night reported to be holed up there with hundreds of security guards.

Leaders of Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party called their supporters to his residence after a prison van arrived just over a mile away at Imran Khan Chowk.

Holding canes and banners bearing slogans praising Mr Khan, the PTI supporters stood guard outside Banigala in heavy rain. Asad Umar, the secretary general of the PTI, warned that who

‘If the government try to cross the red line and enter Banigala then we will make Islamabad a jail for you’

ever tried to detain Mr Khan would “regret it”. “Khan is our red line. If they [the government] try to cross the red line and enter Banigala then we will make Islamabad a jail for you by tomorrow morning,” said Murad Saeed, a close aide of Mr Khan.

Rana Sanaullah, the interior minister, said that Mr Khan’s arrest warrant was routine and bailable. “It is for a bailable crime. There is no question of arrest,” Mr Sanaullah said on television.

The warrant was issued shortly after Maryam Nawaz, vice-president of the ruling PML-N party, said Mr Khan’s residence should be raided to recover the “missing” copy of a diplomatic cypher that carries the details of a purported “foreign conspiracy” that allegedly led to the toppling of his government.

At a public rally on Aug 20, Mr Khan said his supporters “won’t spare” officials including Zeba Chaudhary, a female judge responsible for detaining Shahbaz Gill, one of his key advisers.

Police filed terrorism charges against Mr Khan over the comments, which were dropped by the court. However, the charges for threatening the judge still stand even though he told the court that he would apologise.

The Islamabad police said Mr Khan did not attend the last court hearing on Friday, necessitating the issuing of an arrest warrant against him to ensure his presence.

Fawad Chaudhry, a senior member of the PTI, said that they would shortly apply to the duty magistrate, seeking a suspension of the warrant.