By Hamza Ameer
Islamabad, Mar 20 (IANS): More legal cases are piling up against Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan following the violence staged by his supporters during his hearing at the Islamabad Judicial Complex in the Toshakhana case.
Till now, the total number of cases have gone up to 80.
As per details, the latest case has been lodged against the former premier and members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party at Islamabad's Golra Sharif police station for setting government vehicles a blaze, attacking police officials and snatching away their official weapons.
This comes after the Punjab Police raided Khan's residence at Zaman Park, Lahore in a clearance operation, immediately after he left for Islamabad to appear before the judges at the judicial complex.
Punjab's caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir rejected PTI claims of a forced and illegal operation, asserting that the authorities conducted clearance operation after obtaining a search warrant by the authorities.
"We did a clearance operation. There were hundreds of sand bags installed around the house. We recovered illegal weapons from the premises, petrol bombs, bows and marbles balls which were being used to attack police and security officials.
"Imran Khan's house and its vicinity was turned into a no-go area with armed people guarding it illegally. We cannot allow that. Dozens of our police officials were attacked, assaulted and injured by miscreants present inside and around the residence," he added.
According to latest reports, security forces have already rounded up over 17 PTI workers from Islamabad and raided residences of several party leaders.
Khan had travelled from Lahore to Islamabad on Sunday, taking with him thousands of his supporters, to appear before the judges in the Toshakhana case.
At least 4,000 of his supporters had reached the Sector G-11 judicial complex.
Khan faces charges of concealing details of the gifts he had acquired from the depository in his asset declarations submitted before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which had filed the complaint against him.
However, upon his arrival, the police and activists engaged in fierce and violent clashes outside the complex as Khan's supporters wanted to accompany him into the court premises but were not permitted by the security forces.
This compelled the court to cancel the former premier's non-bailable arrest warrant and adjourn the hearing of the case till March 30 after marking his attendance at the judicial complex's main gate.
Experts believe that the legal nexus around Khan is getting more and more tight as the current government looks to tackle his popularity and his political relevance through the legal course with an aim to see him out of the race before the general elections take place later this year.