Pakistan deploys army to quell violence over Imran Khan's arrest

Fire and smoke billow from a Radio Pakistan building after it was set afire by the supporters of Imran Khan during a protest against his arrest, in Peshawar city. (Photo:/Reuters)

Pakistan's government has brought out the military in areas roiled by deadly violence following the arrest of former premier Imran Khan, who was dragged from a courtroom and ordered held for another eight days on new corruption charges that outraged his supporters and deepened the South Asian country's political turmoil.

In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the unrest by Khan's supporters "damaged sensitive public and private property," forcing him to deploy the military in the capital of Islamabad, the most populous province of Punjab and in volatile regions of the northwest.

After Khan was arrested on Tuesday, crowds in Islamabad and other major cities blocked roads, clashed with police, and set fire to police checkpoints and military facilities in violence.

At least eight people have been killed, nearly 300 wounded and over 1,900 detained across the country, Dawn newspaper reported.

Police detain a supporter of Imran Khan in eastern Lahore city. (Photo/AP)

"Such scenes were never seen by the people of Pakistan," Sharif said, following a Cabinet meeting. "Even patients were taken out of ambulances and ambulances were set on fire."

Calling such attacks "unforgivable," he warned that those involved in violence would be given exemplary punishment.

Sharif said Khan was arrested because of his involvement in corruption, and that there was evidence available to back up these charges.

Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year by Sharif, is being held at a police compound in Islamabad.

The military also weighed in with a strongly worded statement, vowing stern action against those seeking to push Pakistan toward a "civil war." It called the organised attacks on its installations a "black chapter" in the country's political history.

"What the eternal enemy of the country could not do for 75 years, this group, wearing a political cloak, in the lust for power, has done it," the statement said, adding that troops had exercised restraint but they would respond to further attacks, and those involved will bear the responsibility.

Also on Wednesday, police arrested Fawad Chaudhry, Khan's deputy and vice president of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf [PTI] party, outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad. Chaudhry, an outspoken government critic, had insisted that he had been granted legal protection from arrest, and the police did not specify the charges.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in noting the protests, "calls for all parties to refrain from violence" and "he stresses the need to respect the right to peaceful assembly," deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

Protests and arrests

The party has appealed for calm, but the country was on high alert. Police were deployed in force, and they placed shipping containers on a road leading to the sprawling police compound in Islamabad where Khan was held.

His supporters in Peshawar raided a building housing Radio Pakistan, damaging equipment and setting it ablaze, said police official Naeem Khan. Some employees were trapped inside, he said, and police sought to restore order.

In eastern Punjab province, the local government asked the army to step in after authorities said 157 police were wounded in clashes with protesters.

Police arrested 945 Khan supporters in eastern Punjab province alone since Tuesday, including Asad Umar and Sarfraz Cheema, two senior leaders of his party.

The National Accountability Bureau or NAB has detained and investigated former officials, including former prime ministers, politicians and retired military officers, but some view it as a tool used by those in power, especially the military, to crack down on political opponents.

When Khan was in power, his government arrested Sharif, then the opposition leader, through NAB.

Sharif faced multiple corruption cases when he ousted Khan, and the charges were later dropped for lack of evidence.

'Khan is our red line'

Mobs angered by the dramatic arrest set fire to the residence of a top army general in the eastern city of Lahore, and supporters attacked the military's headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near Islamabad. They did not reach the main building housing the offices of army chief General Asim Munir.

Demonstrators also tried to reach the prime minister's residence in Lahore, but were stopped by police. Still others attacked troop vehicles, hitting armed soldiers with sticks.

By morning, police in Lahore said about 2,000 protesters still surrounded the fire-damaged residence of Lieutenant General Salman Fayyaz Ghani, a top regional commander. They chanted, "Khan is our red line and you have crossed it." Ghani and his family were moved to a safer place on Tuesday when the sprawling house was attacked.

Amid the violence, Pakistan's telecommunication authority blocked social media, including Twitter. The government also suspended internet service in Islamabad and other cities. Classes at some private schools were cancelled on Wednesday, and several social media sites remained suspended.

The unrest comes as Pakistan reels under the economic crisis. Khan has been demanding early elections while the government maintains elections will take place as scheduled in October this year.

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Source: TRT World