Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday while appearing in a court in Islamabad to face corruption charges, a move that has sparked protests across Pakistan’s north and south.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse Khan supporters protesting in Karachi and Lahore against the arrest hours earlier of the former head of government, who has been pushing for several months for the organization of early elections in the hope of returning to power.
Roads were also blocked in Peshawar, a city located west of the capital, as well as in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. In this garrison town, demonstrators also stormed the residence of the army corps commander to express their anger against the military institution.
“This arrest is in accordance with the law,” insisted Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah. It was carried out by Pakistan’s main anti-corruption body, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), “an independent body that is not controlled by the government”, he said.
A video broadcast on local television stations shows Mr Khan pushed by dozens of paramilitaries into an armored car inside the premises of the High Court in Islamabad.
“As we arrived in the biometric control room of the court to take attendance, dozens of rangers attacked us,” Ali Bukhari, a lawyer for the PTI, the party of Mr. Khan, told AFP. “They beat him and dragged him out,” he added.
Dozens of cases
Aged 70, Mr. Khan has been the target of several dozen court cases since his ousting as head of government last year. He had so far succeeded in thwarting various arrest attempts.
“My Pakistanis, by the time these words reach you, I will have been arrested in connection with an illegitimate affair”, cowardly in a pre-recorded video, released on Tuesday, Imran Khan who had anticipated his detention. “Fundamental rights in Pakistan, the rights given to us by our Constitution and our democracy have been buried”, adds the former cricket star who entered politics in 1996.
His arrest comes the day after the army warned against “unfounded allegations” made, according to her, by the former prime minister.
During a weekend rally in Lahore, Mr Khan again claimed that General Faisal Naseer, a senior intelligence officer, was involved in the attempted assassination in early November 2022 during a rally . Mr. Khan was then shot in the leg.
“These fabricated and malicious allegations are extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable,” the Army’s Interservice Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
“Military and intelligence officials are the target of innuendo and raucous propaganda aimed at promoting political goals,” he said.
“His allegations without any proof against General Faisal Naseer and the officers of our intelligence agency cannot be authorized and will not be tolerated”, reacted for his part Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accused by his predecessor of having also played a role in his November assault.
Elections
Criticism of the military establishment is rare in Pakistan, where its leaders wield considerable influence over domestic and foreign policy. They have long been accused of interfering in the rise and fall of governments.
The warning sent by the army on Monday illustrates the extent to which relations between Mr. Khan and the latter have deteriorated.
She had first supported him in his accession to power in 2018 before withdrawing his support. Imran Khan was ousted from office by a vote of no confidence in Parliament in April 2022.
Since then, this politician who remains extremely popular has been pressuring the fragile coalition government to organize early elections before October.
Officially, the attack on Mr. Khan is the work of a lone gunman, who in a video released by the police admits to being the author and is now in custody.
These conclusions were rejected by Mr. Khan who points out that the authorities refused his attempts to file an initial information report with the police to identify the “real culprits”.
“There is no reason for me to invent facts,” the former prime minister said in a video released Tuesday before his arrest.
Pakistan’s powerful military wields immense influence in Pakistan, where it has staged at least three coups since independence in 1947, ruling for more than three decades.