File photo: Policemen escort Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan (C) as he arrives at the high court in Islamabad on May 12, 2023. Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP
Islamabad: Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan said Wednesday that police were surrounding his house in an upscale area of the eastern city of Lahore and he could be arrested.
However, police said they were surrounding the home because dozens of people linked to last week’s violent attacks on public property and military installations were hiding there.
"Probably my last tweet before my next arrest. Police have surrounded my house,” Khan wrote on Twitter.
The development comes hours after Amir Mir, a spokesman for the Punjab provincial government, said Khan has 24 hours to hand over 40 suspects allegedly hiding at his home or face a police raid.
He told a news conference that so far 3,400 suspects have been arrested and more raids were underway.
Pakistani authorities on Wednesday pressed on with efforts to try civilians involved in recent anti-government protests before military courts despite appeals from a leading international rights group and a local watchdog.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan issued separate statements late Tuesday, saying they were alarmed by the government's plan to bring supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan who clashed with police and rioted across the country to trial under military rules.
