- At a number of locations, protesters became violent, causing damage to public property and the burning of police vehicles.
- Imran Khan is to be presented before the Islamabad accountability court today
- Over 100 PTI activists booked over arson, and vandalism in cases across the country, Red Alert issued for Islamabad
- The caretaker Punjab government called the Rangers to control the law-and-order situation in the most crowded region and imposed section 144 under which not beyond what five individuals can accumulate at a certain point.
- Section 144 is imposed in several areas including Baluchistan, Rawalpindi, and Lahore.
- Khan is the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arrested and hanged in 1979.
At least four people were killed and more than twelve were injured in various parts of Pakistan in violent clashes between the security powers and the allies of Khan. One each has been killed in Lahore, Faisalabad, Quetta, and Swat,” senior PTI leader Shireen Mazari said.
Supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan raged the Pakistan Armed Force base camp in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and the Corps Commandant’s home in Lahore after his arrest in a corruption case. In a number of Pakistani cities, massive protests broke out as the news of his arrest by the Rangers spread. At a number of locations, protesters became violent, causing damage to public property and the burning of police vehicles.
Khan, who had traveled from Lahore to the federal capital Islamabad, was undergoing a biometric process at the Islamabad High Court when the paramilitary Rangers broke open the glass window and arrested him after beating Khan’s lawyers and security staff.
The protests in Lahore and Faisalabad were still going on. In Faisalabad, supporters of Khan also set some law enforcement vehicles on fire. The dissidents likewise set ablaze a toll plaza on the Smack Motorway, as indicated by footage shared by PTI.
In Rawalpindi, where troops were exercising restraint, Khan’s supporters smashed the main gate of the army’s sprawling headquarters for the first time. In Lahore, a large number of PTI workers broke into the residence of Corps Commander Lahore and smashed the window and gate. Because of the protests on major roads, Lahore was virtually cut off from the rest of the province.
The caretaker Punjab government called the Rangers to control the law-and-order situation in the most crowded region and imposed section 144 under which not beyond what five individuals can accumulate at a certain point. The Home Department stated that gatherings will be prohibited for two days. In addition, the Punjab government requested that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority suspend mobile and Internet services in the province’s violent protest-prone areas. In a similar vein, the government of Balochistan implemented Section 144 in Quetta and other locations to control political demonstrations and events.
Amid the unrest going on in Pakistan, former prime minister Imran Khan will today appear in a special court at the capital’s police base camp to answer graft charges.
Khan is the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arrested and hanged in 1979. The current prime minister’s brother, Nawaz Sharif, who also served as prime minister, was arrested several times on corruption allegations.
(With Inputs from agencies)
