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Ousted as PM, assassination attempt, and now fears of arrest, Imran Khan has seen it all in a year

Mohammad BilalMarch 15, 2023 | 13:29 IST

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan may have evaded another arrest attempt, but his troubles are not over by any means.

The ghost of the Toshakhana case, where Khan is alleged to have not disclosed details of the gifts he received, has put him in a mess. After not appearing for hearings of the case multiple times, the Islamabad Session Court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him, and now the police are camped outside his Zaman Park residence in Lahore to arrest him.

While Khan maintains that the final motive is to 'abduct and assassinate' him, his supporters and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members are clashing with the police officials.

Khan has also given a written statement to the Lahore High Court Bar that he would be appearing at the hearing in the Toshakhana case on March 18. Still, the attempts of police to arrest him are on.

Imran Khan's letter to the Lahore High Court Bar

In fact, since April 2022, when his government fell after a no-confidence motion, Khan has been involved in many controversies and has faced a tough time.

Here is a look at Khan's troublesome one year:

Losing no-confidence motion: On March 28, 2022, Pakistan's Opposition leader at the time, Shehbaz Sharif, with support from defected PTI lawmakers and other Opposition parties, tabled a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan's government. While Khan said that it was a foreign conspiracy to oust him from power, on March 30, 2022, many of his lawmakers sided with the Opposition.

On April 11, Shehbaz Sharif succeeded in winning the no-confidence motion against the PTI government with 174 lawmakers on his side. He was elected as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The next few months saw in Khan leading big rallies and pushing the Pakistani government to call for fresh elections.

37 cases against Khan: Since his ouster from the office, a number of cases against him have been filed against him. According to News International, there are a total of 37 cases filed against Khan, out of which 11 cases were registered in a single day on May 25, 2022, and the other eight cases were filed on May 26, 2022.

Plus, three FIRs were lodged against him on August 8, 2022.

The cases against Khan include litigation, police and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cases, and proceedings launched against him by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Moreover, Khan is also a petitioner in 19 cases that he has filed against government officials and departments.

Since his ouster from office, Imran Khan has been slapped with 37 cases in different courts of Pakistan. Photo: Getty

The assassination attempt:  Imran Khan was injured in what his supporters called an 'assassination attempt' on November 3, 2022. The attack occurred in the Wazirabad district in the east of Punjab province, where Khan was leading a convoy of supporters when he was attacked by a man who had an automatic gun in his hands.

One supporter of Khan also died in the incident while Khan was injured in his leg.

Several people were reported to have been wounded in the accident while the police nabbed the attacker along with the weapon he was carrying.

After the attack, Khan's supporters carried out nationwide protests.

What's next? Imran Khan's troubles don't seem to be ending anytime soon. All eyes will be on the proceedings of the Toshakhana case. Khan says he is 'mentally prepared' for the arrest, which looks imminent now.

Last updated: March 15, 2023 | 13:29
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