2023-05-09 16:42:59
Pakistani police have used water cannon and tear gas to quell protests in several cities hours following the arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in corruption charges.
On May 9, local time, thousands of Imran Khan supporters took to the streets in the capital Islamabad, as well as Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and other cities to protest his arrest.
In Islamabad, hundreds of activists from Imran Khan’s PTI party blocked the main Kashmiri road, disrupting traffic in both directions.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported from Islamabad that “the situation on the ground is precarious” following Khan’s arrest.
The reporter pointed out that “as reports of Imran Khan’s arrest spread across the country, protesters took to the streets and were arrested.” It’s being upgraded all the time.”
Officials anticipated the protests and warned the public not to take part, the reporter added.
“Islamabad’s police chief says anyone who comes out to protest should be arrested,” the reporter noted.
The local broadcaster “Geo News” reported that when the two sides clashed in various places in the city, the police arrested more than a dozen staff members from the Pakistani Justice Movement Party.
In Lahore, the country’s second-largest city, protesters gathered outside Khan’s Zaman Park residence and blocked nearby roads with burning tires. Police used water cannons to disperse the demonstrators.
In the southern port city of Karachi, supporters of the Pakistani Mahathir Party gathered along one of the city’s busiest roads. Roads near the party’s office were closed to traffic in both directions as a large number of police officers blocked the area.
Police also threw tear gas canisters to disperse protesters as they tried to block roads.
A group of protesters threw rocks and burned tires on Burns Road, the city’s famous food street, disrupting traffic and forcing shop owners to close.
Protesters blocked the Pakistan-Afghanistan highway at two points in the northwest town of Randikotal, which borders neighboring Afghanistan, according to Dawn News.
Imran Khan’s arrest comes following months of political crisis in the country. His arrest came hours following the country’s powerful military rebuked the former prime minister and former international cricketer over allegations that Khan claimed a senior military officer was involved in a plot to kill him.
“Imran Khan arrested in Qadir trust case,” Islamabad police wrote on their official Twitter account, referring to a corruption case.
Video broadcast by a local TV channel showed dozens of paramilitary patrols pushing Imran Khan roughly into an armored vehicle inside the Islamabad High Court complex. It should be noted that Imran Khan has shown a noticeable limp since he was shot in an assassination attempt last year.
It is unclear where he was taken.
In anticipation of his arrest, officials within his party then released a pre-recorded video of Imran Khan urging supporters to stand up for “true freedom”.
“My Pakistanis, by the time these words reach your ears, I may already be in detention for an illegal case,” he said in the video.
“It should be clear to all of you that the fundamental rights of Pakistan, the rights entrusted to us by our constitution and our democracy, have been buried.”
Pakistan is mired in economic and political crisis, while Imran Khan has put pressure on the struggling coalition government to call early elections.
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