NEW DELHI – Protests erupted across Pakistan yesterday after former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High Court.
Imran and his party were anticipating the arrest and had told their supporters to hit the streets if it happened.
As soon as Imran was taken away by the paramilitary forces from the court premises, PTI leaders issued calls for immediate protests.
Angry protesters gathered in many cities, including Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Quetta, Gilgit, Sialkot, Karachi and Islamabad.
In some places, they marched towards cantonments.
Photographs shared on social media showed some protesters entering the army’s general headquarters in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad.
In Karachi, protesters blocked Shahrah-e-Faisal, the city’s main road.
ARY television channel reported yesterday evening the authorities were planning to impose restrictions on the internet and telecommunications services in view of the protests.
PTI vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi asked people to remain peaceful in demanding Imran’s release.
He said the PTI chief was arrested on trumped-up charges.
Imran, who faces more than 100 cases ranging from terrorism to graft, appeared defiant in a video before leaving for Islamabad for his court hearing earlier in the day.
Imran, a former cricket star who led Pakistan to victory in the ICC World Cup final in 1992, remains a hugely popular politician.
His rallies have drawn record crowds since his ouster as prime minister in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April last year.
Imran says he was removed as part of a plot to stop Pakistan from pursuing an indecent foreign policy and thwart his campaign against corruption.
His demand for early national elections in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, where the PTI administrations dissolved the provincial assemblies to pave the way for a fresh mandate, is resisted by the ruling coalition of disparate groups known as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
Imran has been making frequent court appearances in recent months in relation to the cases slapped on him since April.
It was during such a hearing in Islamabad yesterday that he was taken away by the paramilitary force in a vehicle.
“The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury,” Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said.
On several occasions before, his supporters often accompanied him to court appearances to foil possible police attempts to arrest him.
The PTI had always maintained that arresting Imran would be illegal and tantamount to crossing their “red line”.
One popular slogan among his supporters has been: “Jaan de denge, Khan nahin denge” (We’ll give away our lives but won’t give Khan).
PTI leaders say holding immediate elections is the only solution to end Pakistan's prevailing political and economic uncertainty.
However, the PDM chieftains see elections as handing over power back to Imran as he is widely expected to score a thumping victory. – Bernama, May 10, 2023
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