Lahore: Pakistan Rangers and police personnel who were closing in on ousted prime minister Imran Khan’s residence here to arrest him in a corruption case on Wednesday started retreating, prompting cheers and celebrations among his supporters.
Citing sources, Geo News reported that police will not advance on Khan’s Zaman Park residence until the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 8 cricket match involving foreign players is over.
Police and other security officials were seen leaving Zaman Park, prompting celebrations among Khan’s supporters who cheered “chasing the Rangers away”. Soon after, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Khan came out of his residence, donning a gas mask, and met the party workers.
In a tweet, the party said that more workers were reaching Zaman Park and vowed not to let the “impure intentions” of the coalition government succeed.
Earlier in the day, authorities deployed the elite Rangers outside Khan’s residence, a day after clashes with police left over 60 people injured, including 54 policemen.
Lahore’s Zaman Park area was turned into a battleground after 70-year-old Khan’s defiant supporters engaged in pitched battles with policemen on Tuesday to stop them from arresting their leader in the Toshakhana case, resulting in injuries on both sides.
The injured were shifted to Lahore’s hospitals and police arrested dozens of Khan’s supporters.
Citing hospital sources, Geo News reported that at least 54 policemen and eight civilians were injured in the clashes that have been ongoing since Tuesday afternoon. Khan’s supporters clashed repeatedly with police overnight.
The upscale area where Khan lives remained under siege on Wednesday as the government sent Rangers to aid police teams who struggled on Tuesday to muscle their way through a ring of enraged PTI supporters to arrest Khan.
The police, with their riot gear on, closed in on Khan’s home in order to comply with the court orders to arrest him in the Toshakhana case.
Khan has been in the crosshairs for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana and selling them for profit.
Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.
