At least six individuals have been killed in situations related to protests in support of the previous prime minister. According to authorities, about a thousand protestors were arrested.
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| Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan |
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was thrown in pre-trial prison for a corruption charge on Wednesday, May 10, the day following his arrest, which prompted rioting and forced the deployment of troops to Punjab. "The court has approved Imran Khan's provisional detention for a period of eight days," Ali Bukhari, Mr. Khan's lawyer, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) following the trial. Hearing behind closed doors. According to police and hospitals, at least six people have died in situations related to protests in favour of Mr Khan.
The government has also approved the deployment of soldiers in Punjab, the country's most populous state, where about 1,000 protestors have been detained and 130 police officers have been injured since the rallies began on Tuesday. The Interior Ministry's directive does not identify the date or duration of the deployment sought by the province administration, nor does it indicate the number of soldiers deployed.
Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, skirmishes erupted in numerous major cities between supporters of Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) and police. According to the latter, about a thousand protestors were arrested in Punjab, the country's most populated state, and 130 police officers were hurt. On Wednesday, authorities also ordered the closure of schools across the country and continued to limit access to social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
After his collapse, Mr. Khan, 70, who has been the subject of several dozen court proceedings and whose ties with the military have only deteriorated, pushed for the holding of early elections before the October deadline, seeking to reclaim power.
The former prime minister, who came to power with the army's support in 2018 before clashing with the military leadership, accused a senior officer this weekend of plotting his assassination in November, at a meeting during which he was wounded in the leg.
"These fabricated and malicious allegations are extremely unfortunate, deplorable, and unacceptable," the army said on Monday, stating that "this noisy propaganda" was aimed to "promote political objectives." Officially, the attack was carried out by a lone shooter, who, according to a police video, admitted to being the offender and is now in custody, but Mr Khan rejects this view.
Criticism of the military is uncommon in Pakistan, as its commanders wield significant political power. Since her independence in 1947, she has conducted at least three coups and ruled for more than thirty years.
"My [dear] Pakistanis, I will have been arrested in connection with an illegitimate affair by the time these words reach you," Khan said in a pre-recorded video on Tuesday, expecting his arrest. Images carried by local television stations on Tuesday show Mr. Khan being shoved into an armored car parked inside Islamabad's courthouse by dozens Pakistani paramilitaries. "No PTI leader or lawyer is aware of Mr. Khan's medical condition." On Wednesday, one of his attorneys, Faisal Hussain Chaudry, complained, "We don't have the right to see him."
On Tuesday, hours after the arrest was announced, violent demonstrations erupted. Protesters burst into the military commander's mansion in Lahore and blocked the entrance gates to the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
Mobs demolished the Chaghi Monument in Peshawar, a mountain-like monument commemorating the location of Pakistan's first nuclear test. Several tributes honoring veterans murdered in the line of duty have also been damaged.
The PTI's vice chairman, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, urged his followers to continue demonstrating "legally and peacefully," adding that the party's lawyers will file many appeals against Mr Khan's incarceration.
The US wants "to make sure that everything that happens in Pakistan is in accordance with the rule of law, with the Constitution," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday during a press conference in Washington with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. "We want a peaceful democracy in this country," Cleverly went on to say.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, for his part, guaranteed that the arrest was carried out "in accordance with the law" and by the National Anti-Corruption Board (NAB), "an independent body that is not controlled by the government."
Source: AFP,REUTERS,LE MONDE