Violent protests in Pakistan after former PM Imran Khan’s arrest – National | 24CA News
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared in courtroom Wednesday, a day after he was dragged from one other courtroom and arrested in Islamabad, and his supporters clashed with police throughout the nation. A decide was requested to approve conserving the 70-year-old opposition chief in custody for as much as 14 days.
Khan, who misplaced energy final yr however stays the nation’s hottest opposition determine, is the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan. His arrest deepened political turmoil and sparked violent demonstrations on Tuesday.
At least two folks had been killed within the in a single day violence, one within the southwestern metropolis of Quetta and the opposite in northwestern Pakistan, and dozens had been wounded in numerous components of the nation.
In jap Punjab province, the place authorities mentioned 157 cops had been injured in clashes with Khan supporters, the native authorities requested the military to step in and restore order.
Pakistan’s GEO tv broadcast footage exhibiting Khan showing earlier than a decide at a brief courtroom inside a police compound Wednesday. The former premier was seen seated in a chair, holding paperwork. He appeared calm however drained.
The decide is predicted to rule on the request for a 14-day detention later within the day. Meanwhile, Khan’s authorized staff challenged his arrest earlier than the Islamabad High Court, searching for his launch.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf celebration had known as for demonstrators to stay peaceable, hours after mobs angered over the dramatic arrest set fireplace to the residence of a high military basic within the jap metropolis of Lahore.
When he was arrested on Tuesday, Khan was showing in courtroom on a number of graft costs introduced by Islamabad police. As he confirmed up in courtroom, dozens of brokers from the National Accountability Bureau backed by paramilitary troops stormed the courtroom, breaking home windows after Khan’s guards refused to open the door.
Smoke erupts from objects set on fireplace by offended supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan as police fireplace tear fuel to disperse them throughout a protest towards the arrest of Khan, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad
Khan’s supporters attacked the army’s headquarters within the garrison metropolis of Rawalpindi close to the capital, Islamabad, however didn’t attain the principle constructing housing the workplaces of military chief Gen. Asim Munir.
Other demonstrators tried to succeed in the prime minister’s residence in Lahore, however had been pushed off by baton-wielding in police. Others attacked automobiles carrying troops and hit armed troopers with sticks. So far, police and troopers haven’t fired at protesters.
The army has not commented on the assaults on its amenities. None of the leaders from Khan’s celebration denounced the assaults on the army.
A police assertion Wednesday mentioned officers in jap Punjab province arrested 945 Khan supporters since Tuesday _ together with Asad Umar, a senior chief from Khan’s celebration. Dozens of Khan supporters had been additionally detained in Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar and elsewhere.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, senior vp from Khan’s celebration, appealed for peaceable demonstrations Wednesday, urging followers: “Don’t damage public property, don’t attack offices, as we are peace lovers.” He mentioned the celebration is contemplating difficult Khan’s arrest within the Supreme Court.
By morning, police mentioned some 2,000 protesters nonetheless surrounded the fire-damaged residence in Lahore of Lt. Gen. Salman Fayyaz Ghani, a high regional commander. They chanted slogans on the army, together with “Khan is our red line and you have crossed it.” Ghani and his members of the family had been moved to a safer place when the mob on Tuesday first attacked their sprawling home.
Police deployed in power throughout the nation, and positioned transport containers on a highway resulting in the sprawling police compound in Islamabad the place Khan is being held and the place he appeared earlier than a decide on the non permanent courtroom positioned there for safety causes, based on the federal government.
Amid violence, Pakistan’s telecommunication authority on Tuesday blocked social media, together with Twitter. The authorities additionally suspended web service in Islamabad and different cities. Classes at some personal colleges had been canceled for Wednesday.
Rights group Amnesty International mentioned it was alarmed by stories of Pakistani authorities blocking entry to cell web networks and social media _ Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are suspended for a second day. Amnesty urged authorities to point out restraint, saying clashes between regulation enforcement and Khan’s supporters threat human rights violations.
The National Accountability Bureau has detained and investigated former officers, together with former prime ministers, politicians and retired army officers. But some view the NAB as a device utilized by these in energy, particularly the army, to crack down on political opponents.
When Khan was in energy, his authorities arrested Shahbaz Sharif, then the opposition chief, by the NAB. Sharif was dealing with a number of corruption instances when he managed to oust Khan in a 2022 no-confidence vote. The costs had been later dropped, citing an absence of proof.
Prime Minister Sharif returned to Pakistan on Wednesday from a U.Okay. journey and was to carry a Cabinet assembly on the newest developments. His brother, Nawaz Sharif, who additionally served as prime minister, was arrested a number of instances on corruption allegations.
In March, police stormed Khan’s Lahore residence, searching for to arrest him in a corruption case associated to hiding earnings from the sale of official items. Dozens of individuals, together with police, had been injured in ensuing clashes. Khan was not arrested on the time and later obtained bail.
As violence unfold, diplomats from numerous nations and customary folks in Pakistan stayed house. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad canceled all its Wednesday consular appointments following Khan’s arrest and issued a nationwide alert, telling Americans to evaluation their private safety plans and keep away from massive crowds.
Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, contributed to this story.
