His former prime minister Pakistan Imran Khan was released today by an Islamabad court that canceled an arrest warrant issued against him, his lawyers said.

The 70-year-old former prime minister has been charged with corruption.

After days of legal wrangling, Khan left Lahore today for Islamabad’s courthouse, 300 kilometers away. However, he was unable to get out of the car as police fired tear gas at his assembled supporters, who responded with stones and bricks.

However, the court acknowledged Khan’s “presence”, lawyers said, even though he was unable to appear before the judges. “He canceled the arrest warrant and the proceedings were adjourned until March 30,” said Gohar Khan, one of the former prime minister’s lawyers.

The Electoral Commission of Pakistan accuses Imran Khan of not declaring gifts he received when he was prime minister, nor the proceeds from their sale. He denies the accusation.

Earlier today, Khan accused the authorities of plotting to arrest him and said he was the victim of a plot to keep him out of the October elections.

Khan lost power in April 2022 after being impeached and is now pushing the coalition government that replaced him to hold early elections.

Today, about 4,000 police officers, including special forces and counter-terrorism forces, have been deployed to Islamabad, and city hospitals have been put on alert. Police raided Khan’s home in an upscale Lahore area after previously blocking nearby streets and jamming mobile phones in the area.

Clashes erupted earlier in the week between his supporters and the police, who came to his home to arrest him. The court eventually ordered the security forces to stand down, and Khan promised to appear in court today, which he had refused in previous days, citing security concerns.

^{Source: APE-MEB, dpa, Reuters, AFP.}