Imran Khan arrested in corruption case
Islamabad: Authorities in Pakistan Tuesday arrested former prime minister Imran Khan, the leader of the largest national political party, outside a court in the capital, Islamabad.
The 70-year-old politician was taken into custody as he prepared to attend a hearing on the dozens of charges against him ranging from alleged terrorism and corruption to treason and other criminal offenses.
Khan’s attorneys claimed that paramilitary forces physically assaulted him before taking him into custody and handing him over to anti-graft authorities accompanying them.
“State terrorism – breaking into IHC (Islamabad High Court) premises to abduct Imran Khan from court premises. Law of the jungle in operation. Rangers beat the lawyers, used violence on Imran Khan, and abducted him,” tweeted Shireen Mazari, a close aide to the opposition leader, along with a purported video of security action.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed Khan’s arrest, rejecting charges of physical assault and telling local media about a corruption case against the opposition politician.
PTI supporters immediately took to the streets in Islamabad and other parts of the country to protest the arrest. Police in Islamabad dispersed protesters and detained dozens of them in the process.
Protesters and eyewitnesses reported firing by security forces at men and women outside army and ISI installations in several cities, injuring many protesters.
A large number of Khan supporters gathered outside the military headquarters in Rawalpindi and chanted slogans against the army, something that has not been seen in the recent history of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, provincial authorities in Lahore deployed paramilitary forces to assist police in controlling the situation after protesters there assaulted the residence of the regional military corps commander.
Angry protests and demonstrations also erupted across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province abutting Afghanistan.
There was a complete media blackout of the protests on dozens of local news channels in and around Islamabad, but officials were not immediately available to respond to opposition allegations the government was responsible. The violence prompted authorities to immediately ban all gatherings in major cities
Pakistan is mired in an economic and political crisis, with the Khan-led PTI pressuring Sharif’s embattled coalition government to hold early elections.
Maleeha Lodhi, the former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, while responding to Khan’s arrest, described the current crisis facing the country as unprecedented.
“Of total political chaos and economic breakdown. This is untenable, and the people of the country don’t deserve this. This must change,” Lodhi wrote on Twitter.
