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Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan fears imminent arrest

18 Mar 2023 06:03pm
IMRAN KHAN
IMRAN KHAN
NEW DELHI - Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan scheduled to appear in an Islamabad court on Saturday claimed the government imminently planned to arrest him to prevent him from taking part in elections.

"I am on my way to the Islamabad court. Unfortunately, there is an accident and I am late. I want to tell you they have made a plan to arrest me," Imran said in a video message from his car.

The former prime minister, ousted in a controversial parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April last year, claimed the government's intention is to put him in prison.

"Why do they want to jail me? Because it is part of the 'London Plan'," he claimed, adding that Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's brother and a former prime minister who lives in London in self-exile, has made demands for his incarceration.

Imran said he was heading for his court appearance despite knowing that "they are going to arrest me" because "I believe in the rule of law."

His restive supporters gathered in many places and there were reports of heavy police deployment in various places in the national capital and Lahore city.

The former prime minister's convoy of vehicles was stranded at a highway toll plaza before Islamabad, Pakistani television channels reported.

The Islamabad judicial complex where Imran's hearing will take place is surrounded by security forces, the reports said.

More than 90 police cases, including terrorism and making false statements in selling state gifts, have been filed against Imran. - BERNAMA

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