KARACHI/ISLAMABAD
At least one person was killed and several others injured after protests broke out across Pakistan against the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday.
Khan, 70, was taken into custody by paramilitary troops from the Islamabad High Court for his alleged involvement in a case filed by the anti-corruption body, the National Accountability Bureau.
Thousands of Khan's charged supporters took to the streets in the capital Islamabad, the port city of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Sialkot, Sargodha, Mardan, Nowshehra, and other cities to protest against his arrest.
One person was killed and several were injured in a clash between protesters in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, local broadcaster Dawn News reported.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party claimed the deceased was its worker. There was, however, no official word on the incident.
Arrest 'legal,' says court
In a ruling issued late Tuesday evening, the Islamabad High Court declared Khan's arrest in the corruption case as "legal."
Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the judgement hours after he reserved the verdict earlier in the day, the state-run Pakistan Television reported.
Farooq also issued a contempt of the court notice to Islamabad police chief and interior secretary for "arresting Khan from the court premises."
Protests in several cities
In Islamabad, and adjoining Rawalpindi, hundreds of PTI activists blocked the main Kashmir Highway, which suspended traffic on either side of the road.
Police arrested over a dozen of PTI workers after the two sides clashed at several points.
Islamabad police, in a tweet, said five police personnel were injured in clashes with protesters, while at least 43 PTI activists were arrested.
Footage aired on multiple local TV channels showed angry protesters pelting stones on riot police, who, in return, fired teargas shells and used water cannons to disperse them.
The government also banned gatherings and protests across Pakistan to avert protests.
In Lahore, the country's second-largest city, protesters gathered outside Khan's Zaman Park residence and blocked the adjacent roads by burning tires. Police used water cannons to disperse the protesters.
Unverified videos circulated on social media showed protesters entering the house of the military commander of Lahore.
In the southern port city of Karachi, PTI supporters gathered outside the local party office located along the city's busiest Shahrah-e-Faisal thoroughfare.
Police in the financial capital also arrested two PTI lawmakers.
Both tracks of the road near the PTI office were closed to traffic as heavy contingents of police cordoned off the area.
Police also hurled teargas shells to disperse the protesters when they tried to block the road.
Meanwhile, a group of protesters pelted stones and burned tires at Burns Road, the city's famous food street, suspending traffic and forcing shopkeepers to pull their shutters downs.
At least seven PTI workers and four policemen were injured after the two sides clashed in the northeastern Faisalabad city, according to the local broadcaster GEO News.
In the northwestern Landi Kotal town, which borders neighboring Afghanistan, protesters blocked the Pak-Afghan highway at two points, Dawn News reported.
In Peshawar, PTI workers stormed the provincial assembly building and broke the main gate.
Protesters to be dealt with 'iron hand'
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah warned that protesters will be dealt with an "iron hand" if they take the law into their hands.
“Strict orders have been issued to the law enforcing agencies to take stern action if protesters try to disturb life,” he said.
According to Sanaullah, Khan and his wife are accused of taking bribes and nearly 500 acres of land for their proposed university in return for releasing £190 million ($239 million) to a property tycoon.
The money in question was transferred to Pakistan by the UK after the latter's National Crime Agency accepted a settlement offer by Pakistan’s property tycoon, Malik Riaz, who was charged with bribery and corruption overseas in December 2019.
Difficulty in access to social media and disruption in internet services were observed in Pakistan as protests over the arrest of Khan spread nationwide.
Amnesty, EU urge 'restraint'
The Amnesty International and the EU have urged Pakistani authorities to show "restraint."
"The clashes unfolding between Imran Khan's supporters and security enforcement following the former prime minister's arrest risks several human rights violations," the Amnesty International said in a statement.
It also called on authorities to show restraint and to ensure that any response is in line with the "principles of proportionality, legality, necessity and non-discrimination."
An EU spokesperson called for "restraint and cool headedness."
"In the context of Tuesday's arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the European Union emphasizes that in such difficult and tense times, restraint and cool headedness are needed," the spokesperson said in a statement.
Pakistan's challenges, said the spokesperson, can only be addressed and its pathway can only be determined by Pakistanis themselves, through "sincere dialogue and in line with the rule of law."
'May not get chance to address you again'
Sensing what was coming, Khan, in a video message he released a few hours before his arrest, called on his supporters to come out as “freedom is not given on a plate — you have to work hard and struggle for it.”
“My fellow Pakistanis, when these words of mine reach you I will already be detained in an unlawful case. After this, you all should realize that fundamental rights, law, and democracy have been buried,” Khan said.
"Maybe it is possible that I won’t get a chance to talk to you again. That’s why I want to talk about two or three things," he added.
This, he said, is being done to force him to accept "this corrupt cabal of crooks imposed on us. They want me to accept them."
“I appeal today to everyone that you all have to come out. Freedom is not given on a plate — you have to work hard and struggle for it,” he concluded.
Khan has been charged in a number of cases, which, his party says, are politically motivated, ranging from corruption, terrorism, and rioting, since being ousted from power in a no-confidence vote last April.
*Riyaz ul Khaliq contributed to this report from Istanbul.
