Hundreds take to the streets within the capital Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and different cities.
Police have fired water cannon and tear fuel to quell protests that erupted in a number of cities throughout Pakistan hours after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested in reference to a corruption case.
Hundreds of Khan’s supporters took to the streets on Tuesday within the capital Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and different cities to protest towards his arrest.
A minimum of one employee for Khan’s get together was killed in Quetta, Shireen Mazari, former minister and senior chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) get together instructed media.
In Islamabad, lots of of PTI activists blocked the principle Kashmir Freeway, which suspended visitors on both aspect of the highway.
Reporting from Islamabad, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder stated “a precarious scenario” is creating following Khan’s arrest.
“Because the stories of Imran Khan’s arrest went throughout the nation, protesters [took] to the streets and arrests are being made,” Hyder stated. “There’s appreciable anger so far as Imran Khan’s supporters are involved and the scenario is escalating by the hour.”
Hyder added that officers anticipated the protests and have warned the general public towards collaborating in them.
“The inspector normal of Islamabad police has stated that anyone popping out to protest ought to be arrested,” he stated.
Native broadcaster Geo Information reported that police have arrested over a dozen of PTI employees after the 2 sides clashed at a number of factors within the metropolis.
“We’ll block the whole nation and protest till Khan is launched,” Waseem Qayyum, a protester, instructed dpa information company.
Scenes from outdoors GHQ in Rawalpindi the place .@PTIofficial ladies supporters lead the protest, a lone lady shakes the gate of the GHQ_ unprecedented occasions for even Pakistan pic.twitter.com/Tcl61fO6Dr
— Munizae Jahangir (@MunizaeJahangir) May 9, 2023
In Lahore, the nation’s second-largest metropolis, protesters gathered outdoors the previous prime minister’s Zaman Park residence and blocked the adjoining roads by burning tyres. Police used water cannon to disperse the protesters.
Within the southern port metropolis of Karachi, PTI supporters gathered outdoors the native get together workplace situated alongside town’s busiest Shahrah-e-Faisal Street. Each tracks of the highway close to the PTI workplace have been closed to visitors as heavy contingents of police cordoned off the realm.
Police additionally hurled tear fuel canisters to disperse the protesters after they tried to dam the highway.
A bunch of protesters pelted stones and burned tyres at Burns Street, town’s well-known meals avenue, suspending visitors and forcing shopkeepers to drag their shutters downs.
In northwestern Landi Kotal city, which borders neighbouring Afghanistan, protesters blocked the Pak-Afghan freeway at two factors, Daybreak Information reported.
Khan’s arrest adopted months of political disaster and got here hours after the nation’s highly effective army rebuked the previous worldwide cricketer for alleging a senior officer had been concerned in a plot to kill him.
“Imran Khan has been arrested within the Qadir Belief case,” the official Islamabad police Twitter account stated, referring to a corruption case.
Video broadcast on native TV channels confirmed Khan – who has a pronounced limp since being shot throughout an assassination try final 12 months – being manhandled by dozens of paramilitary rangers into an armoured automobile contained in the Islamabad Excessive Courtroom premises.
It was not instantly clear the place he was taken.
Anticipating his arrest, get together officers later launched a pre-recorded video by Khan wherein he urged supporters to return out in assist of “true freedom”.
“My Pakistanis, by the point these phrases attain you, I’d have been detained below an illegitimate case,” he says within the video.
“One factor ought to turn out to be clear for all of you from that is that basic rights in Pakistan, the rights given to us by our structure and democracy, have been buried.”
Pakistan is deeply mired in an financial and political disaster, with Khan pressuring the struggling coalition authorities for early elections.
