2023-05-15 12:35:21
In Pakistan, thousands of government supporters stormed the cordoned-off government district in Islamabad on Monday. This was announced by a police spokesman in the capital of the German Press Agency. Around 7,000 demonstrators followed the call by the governing parties to take to the streets against the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The government district, which also houses the Supreme Court building, had previously been cordoned off.
The demonstrators had overcome the barricades, but the situation is now “calm” and “under control,” said the police spokesman. 2,500 security forces are deployed.
Pakistan’s governing coalition called on its supporters to stage mass protests at the end of last week after the release of the popular opposition leader Khan by order of the Supreme Court on Friday. The call for protests can be understood as an attempted show of strength by the government coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif towards Khan’s supporters. A conflict between the two camps has been smoldering for months. In view of the economic crisis, the South Asian country is divided.
Ex-Prime Minister Khan was arrested on Tuesday last week to a great deal of attention. Violent clashes ensued between his supporters and security forces in several cities. Another arrest of Khan after his release cannot be ruled out. Then chaos could break out again. Some politicians, backed by the military, are calling for a tougher judicial crackdown on Khan.
In April 2022, a vote of no confidence ousted Khan as prime minister after nearly four years in office. Since then, the judiciary has brought new allegations against him. He has to answer in court in around 100 cases. The allegations are about corruption, money laundering and insulting a judge. Observers see the actions against Khan as politically motivated. Khan hopes for a political comeback.
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