A Pakistan court rejected opposition leader Imran Khan’s petition to cancel an arrest warrant in the latest twist in a legal case that has raised political tensions in the country that’s struggling to shore up finances and avert a default.
(Bloomberg) — A Pakistan court rejected opposition leader Imran Khan’s petition to cancel an arrest warrant in the latest twist in a legal case that has raised political tensions in the country that’s struggling to shore up finances and avert a default.
The former premier had filed an application to the lower courts in Lahore and Islamabad on Monday morning to suspend the arrest warrant, his lawyer Azhar Siddiqui said. The lower court in Islamabad said it was rejecting the petition as Khan did not make an appearance during the hearing of his petition.
Khan, 70, plans to appeal to the Islamabad High Court while a verdict from the Lahore court is still pending, another of his lawyers Gohar Ali Khan said.
Pakistan authorities on Sunday moved to arrest Khan in central city of Lahore for not showing up to a court hearing but said he wasn’t immediately found. Khan later addressed supporters at his home and his party has now told the police that the leader will comply with the legal process, Islamabad police spokesman Taqi Jawad said in a text message.
Khan, who has drawn tens of thousands to his rallies in recent months, has been pressurizing the government for early elections since he was ousted from power in April last year. Khan has seen multiple legal cases filed against him in the past year while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to complete his term that ends in August.
The arrest warrant was issued last week after Khan did not appear several times for a hearing related to a complaint over his failure to declare his assets. The Election Commission had disqualified the former cricket star in October for allegedly hiding money earned from selling state gifts that he received when he was prime minister.
The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday and police were supposed to arrest Khan and bring him to court.
The episode underscores how Pakistan’s political tensions are only set to heat up ahead of the election, posing a risk to Sharif’s efforts to secure bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund to fend off potential bankruptcy.
Pakistan’s central bank last week raised its benchmark interest rate to a 25-year high as Moody’s Investors Services downgraded the nation deeper into junk on concerns about debt payments as default nears. Foreign exchange reserves have dropped to cover less than a month of imports.
(Updates with lower court rejecting Khan’s petition)
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