Pakistan is bracing for another day of violence that broke out in many cities after the arrest of former Prime minister Imran Khan for alleged corruption with the leaders of his party announcing a countrywide strike on Wednesday to protest against the government.
The 70-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician was taken into custody in a clumsy fashion by the paramilitary Rangers on Tuesday on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by barging into a room of the Islamabad High Court where he came to attend a corruption case hearing.
The court later ruled that the arrest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief was legal but the way it was carried out was illegal and decided to proceed against the Islamabad police chief and interior secretary.
The PTI leadership strongly condemned the arrest of party chairman Khan and announced a countrywide strike on Wednesday. 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.Protests broke out in the country as the news of Khan’s arrest went viral, with his supporters armed with batons targeting the installations of security institutions, including the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army.
They paid no heed to the imposition of Section 144 that outlawed gatherings in Punjab, Balochistan and major places in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.Some of the worst incidents of violence and vandalism were reported from Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi and Rawalpindi.The PTI overnight claimed at least two deaths and dozens of injuries of its workers in clashes with law enforcement agencies.
Geo News reported that at least three people were killed in clashes and several properties and vehicles were destroyed.The NAB authorities have indicated to present Khan before a court on Wednesday to seek his physical remand in order to further investigate him in the Al-Qadir Trust case allegedly involving more than Rs 50 billion loss to the national exchequer.
