Islamabad, March 6 (IANS): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan jumped his residence's wall and escaped to his neighbour's home to evade arrest, Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed on Monday, a day after the former Prime Minister's hide-and-seek drama.

The minister, in a press conference in Islamabad, said: "Yesterday, the team that went to arrest Khan faced a lot of drama. There are rumours that he [Khan] jumped into his neighbours' house [to hide]. After a while, he surfaced from somewhere and delivered a huge speech," The News reported.

Sanaullah's comments came after an Islamabad police team came to Lahore for arresting the PTI chief — but without the court summons. The law enforcers returned without an arrest as the party told them that he "wasn't home", The News reported.

On February 28, Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal issued the former prime minister's non-bailable arrest warrant for continuously failing to appear before the court in the Toshakhana case.

The minister admitted that if the police wanted to arrest the former prime minister, this wasn't an appropriate strategy. "The police went there to inform him about the court's orders. But he is a shameless person."

Sanaullah added that when the authorities want to arrest and present him before the court, they will do so without hesitation. The interior minister added that Khan misused his authority when it came to Toshakhana gifts, The News reported.

The minister said that the deposed prime minister — who was ousted from power in April last year and has since been protesting against the government — will have to answer before the court.