Pakistani police issued a warrant for the arrest of the dismissed Prime Minister Imran Khan, while dozens of his followers tried to reach his home to prevent his arrest.
The Pakistani police accused the leader of the Pakistan "Insaf" party of deliberately committing legal violations on August 20, when he violated a decision banning public gatherings and threatened officials he accused of torturing his assistant.
Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that hundreds of policemen are blocking the roads leading to Imran Khan's house in Islamabad, and dozens of Khan's followers are trying to reach his house to form a human barrier to prevent his arrest.
Despite his ouster last April in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence, Imran Khan still enjoys wide support, as he organized mass rallies against the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and also won in provincial by-elections.
Since his overthrow from power, the former cricket star and his supporters have organized popular anti-government demonstrations calling for early legislative elections, and they say that the United States conspired to overthrow Khan's government in response to his taking positions that Western governments do not approve of, such as his neutral stance on the Ukrainian war and siding with Islamic issues.
Khan came to power in 2018 thanks to voters fed up with the family politics of the country's two largest parties, as the former sports star vowed to stamp out decades of corruption and nepotism.
Khan remains popular with young people, his speeches attract the highest viewership ratings on television channels, and his keynotes are widely shared on social media.