Pakistan: Police storm Imran Khan’s home in Lahore and arrest 30 people

LAHORE, Islamabad — Pakistani police stormed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s residence in the eastern Lahore on Saturday and arrested 30 people amid tear gas fire after someone opened fire from the roof of the building, officials said.

Senior Police Officer Suhail Sukhera, who is leading the operation in an upscale area of ​​Lahore, said the police decided to remove the encroachments and blockade erected by Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party and its defiant supporters .

He said Khan supporters armed with batons tried to resist the police by throwing rocks and petrol bombs, but the officers continued until a man on the roof of Khan’s residence opened fire. No one was hurt.

Sukhera said police broke into the main gate of Khan’s residence and found masks, bottles filled with gasoline, iron bars and batons used in attacks on police during the week. Sukhera said inside the sprawling residence, illegal structures were erected to house those involved in attacks on police that injured dozens of officers.

Witnesses said police tried to disperse Khan’s supporters by firing tear gas and chased them into several homes in the upscale Zaman Park neighborhood. Khan was due to appear in a court in Islamabad on Saturday after a high court suspended his arrest warrant on Friday, granting him a reprieve to travel to Islamabad and face charges in a corruption case without being detained .

Khan has been locked up at his home in Lahore since Tuesday, after failing to appear at an earlier hearing in the case. His supporters threw rocks and clashed with baton-wielding police for two days to protect the former prime minister from arrest.

Khan, during his road trip to Islamabad, said in a video message that the government had planned his arrest despite him traveling for a hearing. He said police broke into his residence in Lahore while his wife was home alone. He condemned the action and demanded that those responsible be punished by law.

Khan, now in opposition, was ousted in a vote of no confidence in parliament last April. He is accused of selling state gifts while in office and concealing assets. It is one of many cases the former cricketer star turned Islamist politician has faced since his ousting.

The 70-year-old opposition leader also claimed his removal from power was part of a plot by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Washington and Sharif’s government have denied the allegations.