The Islamabad High Court on Friday suspended arrest warrants for Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (Tehreek-e-Insaf) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana criminal case, or "gift box".
Al Jazeera Net correspondent in Islamabad Mohammed Akkad said that the court issued an order to stop the detention until Saturday, March 18, where Khan (70 years) must appear before the Court of First Instance to hear him in the case of Toshakhana.
The presiding judge also instructed the Islamabad Court of Hearings and the Metropolitan Police to provide adequate security for Imran Khan.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Thana Allah said the government would follow due process in relation to Khan's arrest.
Imran Khan has been at risk of arrest for two weeks in the Toshakhana case, under which he is accused of possessing gifts given to him during his rule, which is prohibited by Pakistani law.
Confrontations with the police
Political events in the country have taken another turn over the past week, with police twice going to arrest Khan, but crowds of supporters prevented this, developing into street clashes between police and his supporters, keeping Khan away from arrest.
In another development, the Lahore High Court on Friday ordered Imran Khan to be released on preventive bail in eight terrorism cases registered against him in Lahore and Islamabad.
The court ordered Imran Khan to be released in cases registered in Lahore until 27 March, while granting him until 24 of the same month in cases registered in Islamabad.
Accusations of conspiracy
Imran Khan accused Pakistan's army chief of conspiring with the government to put him in jail and prevent his participation in the elections, telling Al Jazeera earlier: "The current government and the security and military establishment are afraid of my return to power, so they are doing everything to keep me out."
Judicial proceedings against Khan began after he was ousted in a parliamentary vote early last year. Khan has since called for early elections and staged nationwide protests, and was shot at one of those marches.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif rejected Khan's demands, saying the election would be held as scheduled this year.
The political standoff comes at a time when the country of 220 million people is in the grip of a crippling economic crisis and awaits a $1.1 billion International Monetary Fund bailout.