CNA – Pakistani police planned to search the Lahore home of former prime minister Imran Khan (AP, pic below), a provincial government official said yesterday, an operation that could trigger more violence as the country grapples with political and economic instability.
Information Minister of Punjab province Amir Mir said hundreds of policemen, led by the city police commissioner, would conduct the search operation.
“We have information that there are around 40 extremists hiding there, so I think we will need some 400 police to search the house,” he told media. The reference was to supporters of Khan accused of attacking and vandalising government and military buildings.
Khan’s home is located in the Zaman Park neighbourhood of Lahore, the capital of Punjab.
In March, the area was the site of pitched battles between this supporters and police who tried to arrest the 70-year-old former cricket star for not showing up in court.
Khan was eventually arrested on May 9 on graft charges, which he denies, and was later set free on court-ordered bail that expires later this month.
His arrest triggered a wave of violence that saw supporters attacking military installations and other government buildings. The clashes came as the South Asian nation of 220 million faces its worst-ever economic crisis, with critical IMF funding needed to avert a balance of payment crisis delayed for months.
On Wednesday, the Punjab government asked Khan to hand over supporters who it blamed for the attacks on the powerful army and who it said are hiding in his home.
Khan denied sheltering anyone involved in the violence and said the authorities could search his home but only with legal warrants.
