Arrest of Imran Khan triggers violent protests across Pakistan

Nepal Views

Kathmandu: A series of violent protests has erupted across Pakistan following the arrest of PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) Chairman Imran Khan.

Violence has broken out in many cities after the arrest of Khan as the leaders of his party announced a countrywide strike on Wednesday to protest the government’s move.

The PTI leadership strongly condemned the arrest of party chairman and former prime minister Khan. They also appealed to the nation to come out onto the streets against the ‘rising fascism’, telling supporters that a ‘make-or-break moment’ has approached, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse Mr. Khan’s supporters in Karachi and Lahore, while protesters blocked roads in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan and Quetta.

Some protesters took out their wrath on the military, storming the residence of the corps commander in Lahore and laying siege to a gate of the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Earlier on Tuesday, Khan was arrested on the premises of the Islamabad judicial complex by a contingent of Rangers in connection with a corruption case.

The arrest triggered claims and counterclaims by the government and the opposition PTI, with the former defending it while the latter condemning the action.

Soon after the arrest, Section 144 was imposed in Islamabad and some other places to control the law-and-order situation while exams in some cities were postponed in light of violent protests which continued into the night. Twitter and some other social media services were also suspended on the instructions of the interior ministry.

Meanwhile, local TV reported on Wednesday that Pakistan’s anti-terrorism force has also arrested the general secretary of PTI.

PTI general secretary Asad Umar has been arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court, advocate Faisal Chaudhry has confirmed. The lawyer said Umar was taken away from the main entrance of the court, adding that the case in which the PTI leader was arrested is still unclear.