Awami Muslim League (PAML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said on Monday he expected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan to appear before the Lahore High Court (LHC) for protective bail in a case filed against him for protesting outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office.

The LHC had earlier disposed of Mr Khan’s pleaseeking protective bail after he failed to appear, citing his leg injury as his doctors barred him from travelling. Amid rumours about his arrest, the former prime minister decided to appear before the court later.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Ahmad wrote that the world was concerned over the dilapidating state of the country's economy as the rich were being granted subsidies and the poor were being strangled. “Terrorism is going out of hand and further delay [in response] could worsen it," he added. Only the judiciary, he wrote further, was powerful enough to steer the country out of crises.

He went on to say that it must be reckoned that a constitutional crisis had begun when the ECP refused to consult President Dr Arif Alvi on the date for elections. “We expect the president to float the date for elections within three days,” he added.