Supporters of ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan clashed with police outside an Islamabad court Saturday.
Pakistani riot police Saturday clashed with thousands of supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan as his motorcade arrived outside the court building in the capital, Islamabad, to face charges of unlawfully selling state gifts he received when in office.
Officials claimed that law enforcement personnel fired massive tear gas shells to disperse the crowd after stones were thrown at them. The violent standoff prevented Khan from entering the court building for several hours and injured dozens of people —prompting the judge to allow Khan to register his appearance from inside his vehicle and adjourn the proceedings until March 30.
Khan, the head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, denies corruption allegations, calling them politically motivated. His decision to finally make the court appearance followed a high court decision Friday to cancel an arrest warrant a lower court issued earlier this month after he failed to appear on several recent court dates.
Thousands of police personnel were deployed in and around the compound housing the court in the Pakistani capital ahead of Khan’s appearance Saturday after he had cited threats to his life. His close aide, Shireen Mazari, denounced the police for attacking PTI supporters.
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