Pakistan Court Postpones Police Operation to Arrest Imran Khan

Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan carry sticks and chant slogans as they guard the entrance of Khan's house, in Lahore, Pakistan March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan carry sticks and chant slogans as they guard the entrance of Khan's house, in Lahore, Pakistan March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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Pakistan Court Postpones Police Operation to Arrest Imran Khan

Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan carry sticks and chant slogans as they guard the entrance of Khan's house, in Lahore, Pakistan March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan carry sticks and chant slogans as they guard the entrance of Khan's house, in Lahore, Pakistan March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

A Pakistani high court ordered police on Thursday to postpone an operation to arrest Imran Khan for another day, defusing a surge in violence that saw supporters of the former prime minister fighting pitch battles with security forces.

Khan's aide Fawad Chaudhry said the Lahore high court had extended an order to halt the police operation until Friday. The state information minister, Amir Mir, confirmed the court order, Reuters said.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, dozens of Khan's supporters, armed with batons and sling-shots, barricaded his home to prevent security forces from arresting him for failing to show up in court over a case in which he is charged with illegally selling state gifts given to him while he was prime minister. Khan denies the charges.

The court-ordered attempt to arrest Khan, which began on Tuesday, triggered clashes between his supporters and security forces in his Lahore neighborhood, raising fears about the political stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan as it faces an economic crisis.

The violence, in which protesters torched police vehicles, a water-cannon truck and scores of cars and motorcycles and hurled petrol bombs at security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets, subsided after the high court halted the police operation on Wednesday.

A lower court in Islamabad had issued a warrant against former international cricketer Khan for defying orders to present himself in court over charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries when he was prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

Khan denies the charges. The National Election Commission had found him guilty and barred Khan from holding public office for one parliamentary term.

The legal proceedings against Khan began after he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote early last year. Since then, he has been demanding a snap election and holding nationwide protest rallies, and was shot and wounded in one of these rallies. Current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected Khan's demands, saying the election would be held as scheduled later this year.



Congregation Flees after Arsonist Sets Fire to an Australian Synagogue Door

05 July 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Damage is seen on the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne. Photo: James Ross/AAP/dpa
05 July 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Damage is seen on the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne. Photo: James Ross/AAP/dpa
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Congregation Flees after Arsonist Sets Fire to an Australian Synagogue Door

05 July 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Damage is seen on the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne. Photo: James Ross/AAP/dpa
05 July 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Damage is seen on the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne. Photo: James Ross/AAP/dpa

An arsonist set fire to the door of a Melbourne synagogue and forced the congregation to flee on Friday, seven months after criminals destroyed a synagogue in the same Australian city with an accelerant-fueled blaze that left a worshipper injured.

A man doused the double front doors of the downtown East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and set it alight around 8 p.m., a police statement said on Saturday. Around 20 worshippers sharing a meal to mark the Shabbat Jewish day of rest evacuated through a rear door and no one was injured, police said.

Fire fighters extinguished the blaze which was contained to the front entrance, police said.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said both incidents were designed to “traumatize Jewish families.”

“Any attack on a place of worship is an act of hate, and any attack on a Jewish place of worship is an act of antisemitism,” she said in a statement.

Antisemitic attacks roil Australia since 2023 A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel triggered the war in Gaza.

Jewish and Muslim organizations and hate researchers have recorded drastic spikes in hate-fueled incidents on both groups. The Australian government last year appointed special envoys to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia in the community.

Last December, two masked men struck the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne’s southeast. They caused extensive damage by spreading a liquid accelerant with brooms throughout the building before igniting it. A worshipper sustained minor burns.

No charges have been laid for that attack, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blamed on antisemitism.

The Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes Victoria state police, federal police and Australia’s main domestic spy agency, said the fire was likely a politically-motivated attack.

Police say synagogue attack is a serious crime

Acting Victoria Police Commander Zorka Dunstan described the latest synagogue fire as a serious crime. Police released a CCTV image of a suspect.

“I’d like to make it very clear that we do recognize that these crimes are disgusting and abhorrent. But at this stage, we are not declaring this a terrorist incident,” Dunstan told reporters.

“In the course of our investigation, we will examine the intent and the ideology of the persons involved, or person, to determine if this is in fact terrorism. At the moment, we are categorizing it as a serious criminal incident and responding accordingly,” she added.

A terrorism declaration opens the investigation to more resourcing and can result in charges that carry longer prison sentences.

The synagogue’s president, Danny Segal, called for the wider Australian community to stand with his congregation.

“We’re here to be in peace, you know, we’re here for everybody to live together and we’ve got a fresh start in Australia, such a beautiful country, and what they're doing is just not fair and not right, and as Australians, we should stand up and everybody should stand up,” Segal told reporters.

Protesters harass diners in Israeli-owned restaurant

Also in downtown Melbourne on Friday night, around 20 masked protesters harassed diners in an Israeli-owned restaurant. A Miznon restaurant window was broken. A 28-year-old woman was arrested for hindering police.

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, a leading opponent of antisemitism in Australia, said diners were terrorized as the group chanted “Death to the IDF,” referring to the Israeli army.

“Melbourne, for one night, stopped being a safe place for Jews,” Abramovich said.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece condemned both the synagogue and restaurant incidents.

“These criminal acts against a Melbourne synagogue and an Israeli business are absolutely shocking,” Reece said. “All of us as a community need to stand up against it.”

Israel’s deputy foreign minister condemned the attacks, saying it was “yet another reminder of how far racist, antisemitic hate crimes have spread in the heart of Australia,” in a statement on X.

Sharren Haskel expressed her full solidarity with the Jewish community in Melbourne, “Israel stands with you,” she said in the statement.