Pakistan’s election body seeks arrest of opposition leader

He says the judges are also demanding the police bring Khan in for a hearing scheduled for Oct. 26. (Photo By Heinrich Böll Stiftung from Berlin, Deutschland – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Konferenz_Pakistan_und_der_Westen_-_Imran_Khan_(4155877864).jpg, CC BY-SA 2.5)

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s election commission is seeking the arrest of the country’s top opposition leader, cricket-star-turned-politician Imran Khan, on contempt charges.

Haroon Shinwari, a spokesman for the Election Commission, says its panel of judges issued an arrest warrant for Khan on Thursday.

He says the judges are also demanding the police bring Khan in for a hearing scheduled for Oct. 26.

Shinwari claims the commission has the constitutional right to issue arrest warrants. It issued a similar warrant last month but was rejected by the Islamabad High Court.

Khan’s lawyer Babar Awan says he will again appeal the motion before the High Court.

The contempt charges raised by the commission judges stem from Khan’s remarks earlier this year in which he purportedly said the commission was biased in favour of the government.