Pakistani police retreat from ex-PM Khan's residence following clashes

• 

Media reports on Wednesday revealed that the Pakistani police have left former Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence after making an attempt to arrest the leader of the nation's opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and encountering resistance from Khan's supporters.

After the reinstatement of a warrant for Khan's arrest on charges of selling gifts acquired from foreign heads of stat, a detachment of law enforcement officers left Islamabad on Monday and traveled to Lahore.

The clashes went on for several hours, after which the PTI supporters gathered in Zaman Park to celebrate the police's retreat, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported. 

According to the report, a Pakistani court put the police's detention of Khan on hold until March 16 as it looks into a complaint from a party official.

Police and supporters of Khan clashed outside his residence as officers attempted to arrest him on Tuesday. The confrontations saw the Pakistani police using excessive force against Khan's supporters, firing tear gas canisters to disperse them.

The situation outside the compound was tense in the city of Lahore, as the police attempted to force their way into Khan's residence.

Police have made previous attempts to arrest him, but Khan, 70, told Al Mayadeen that he is currently facing 77 lawsuits, and brought to the people's attention that new lawsuits continue to be filed against him -- the latest of which concerns a charge of blasphemy and sowing sedition and terrorism -- stressing that the point is to keep him away from the political arena.

Khan considered that all parties to the conspiracy to remove him from power are terrified of the upcoming elections because they are very well aware that his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), will "sweep the elections."

The ex-PM confirmed that these parties' fear of the election results led them to attempt to exclude, imprison, or even kill [him], describing all parties to the conspiracy as "mafias".

Khan noted that he was expecting an assassination attempt against him, also naming, about two months ago in two public rallies, the parties that tried to assassinate him, namely the two families or the "mafias" who had ruled Pakistan, along with Pakistani intelligence officer General Faisal, whom he called out by name when he survived the assassination attempt.