Another day under high tension for Pakistan. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan expects to be arrested when he goes to court on Saturday (March 18th) to face corruption charges, after days of legal wrangling and clashes between his supporters and the police.
"I am going to the court in Islamabad right now. I want to tell everyone they have come up with a plan to stop me," Imran Khan said in a video message sent from the highway.
Ousted from power in April 2022 following a motion of no confidence, Imran Khan has since pressured the fragile coalition government that replaced him to hold early elections.
And he says he is at the center of a plot to prevent him from running in the elections scheduled for October.
Embroiled in a series of court cases, a frequent risk for opposition figures, the 70-year-old former cricket champion was summoned to court in the Pakistani capital on Saturday to answer corruption charges.
Islamabad on high alert
At the same time, some 4,000 security officers, including elite police commandos and counter-terrorism squads, were deployed around Islamabad. Hospitals have been placed on high alert.
Police also raided Imran Khan's home in an affluent area of eastern Lahore after blocking nearby roads and suspending mobile phone services in the area.
>> Watch: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan says 'there is still a threat' to his life
"The attack on my house was not intended to bring me before the Islamabad court. The goal was to put me in jail," Imran Khan said.
Earlier this week, clashes broke out between his supporters gathered outside his home and the police sent to arrest him.
A court had finally ordered the police to withdraw and Imran Khan had promised to go to court on Saturday, after refusing several times on security grounds.
With AFP
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