'If I'm jailed or killed...': Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan's message to supporters as police move to arrest him

Facing the specter of arrest, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday urged supporters to 'come out' and prove the government wrong. Khan said the government was thinking that if he was arrested, the country would fall asleep. "Come out, and prove them wrong," he said in a video message.  

Khan said police had arrived outside his Zaman Park residence in Lahore to arrest him. "They think that after I am arrested, the nation will fall asleep. You have to prove them wrong," he said. Khan, who was dethroned from power last year, said everyone should come out of their homes for their rights and “haqeeqi azaadi” (true freedom).

Two non-bailable arrest warrants were issued against Imran Khan on Monday after he failed to appear in courts in cases linked to the Toshakhana reference and threatening a woman additional district and sessions judge, according to Pakistan's daily Dawn.

Today, the police arrived at his residence in Lahore. Following the move, massive protests broke out in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Islamabad. The supporters of Khan also clashed with police outside his residence.

Khan made a passionate appeal to his supporters and said: "If something happens to me and I am sent to jail or if I am killed, you have to prove that you will struggle without Imran Khan and not accept the slavery of these thieves and of the one person who has been making decisions for the country.”

According to Dawn, shortly after 2 pm, armoured police vehicles arrived outside Zaman Park with the intention of arresting the former Prime minister but the police officials refrained from commenting on the case in which they were acting against Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Monday issued arrest warrants against Khan after he skipped hearings in the Toshakhana case. The court also directed police to present him in court by March 18.

Today, almost an hour after police arrived outside Zaman Park, police used a water cannon and tear gas against Khan's supporters that had gathered outside his residence.

The Islamabad High Court will take up Khan's plea against arrest warrants tomorrow, Wednesday.

In a tweet this evening, the Islamabad Police said that the Tarnool Road was blocked by the PTI protesters. They said a case had been registered at Tarnool Police Station against the PTI workers who blocked the road on the orders of Imran Khan.