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Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan faces court after shock arrest

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 May 2023 08:15
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Pakistan is deeply plunged into an economic and political crisis, with Khan pressuring the struggling coalition government for early elections.

A police vehicle burns during a protest by the supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan after his arrest, in Karachi, Pakistan, May 9, 2023 (Reuters)

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will appear Wednesday in a special court at the capital's police headquarters to answer alleged graft charges, a day after his shock arrest prompted violent nationwide protests.

Khan's detention follows months of political crisis and came hours after the powerful military criticized the former PM for accusing a senior officer of being involved in a plot to assassinate him.

Some protesters clashed with the military, setting fire to the residence of the corps commander in Lahore and besieging the army's general headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi.

Cities across the country also witnessed clashes between the police and supporters of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for hours on Tuesday night. Local media reported two deaths in those clashes.

The situation appeared to have eased on Wednesday morning, but there was a huge security presence across the capital, particularly outside the so-called police lines where the special court will convene.

Authorities also ordered schools to shut down across the country and continued restricting access to social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the PTI, urged supporters to keep protesting in a "lawful and peaceful manner," pointing out that party lawyers would file multiple appeals and petitions against Khan's arrest.

Authorities ambush Khan

The charge that led to Khan's arrest on Tuesday was brought by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the country's top anti-corruption body, which claimed that the former PM had ignored repeated summons to appear in court.

Khan has faced dozens of charges since being ousted in April. He could be barred from holding public office if convicted, which would exclude him from elections scheduled for later this year.

His arrest came a day after the military warned him against making "baseless allegations" after he again accused a senior officer of plotting to kill him.

Footage shows the former #Pakistani prime minister #ImranKhan being arrested from outside the #Islamabad High Court over corruption allegations.

The Rangers had broken windows at the court to reach Khan in order to arrest him.

"There is no case on me. They want to put me in… pic.twitter.com/KZZ6zepvuI
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 9, 2023

The rebuke late Monday underscored how far Khan's relations have deteriorated with the military, which backed his rise to power in 2018 but withdrew its support ahead of a parliamentary vote of no confidence that ousted him last year.

Pakistan is deeply plunged into an economic and political crisis, with Khan pressuring the struggling coalition government for early elections.

But authorities ambushed the former PM during what was supposed to be a routine court appearance Tuesday. Khan, who has had a pronounced limp since being shot during an assassination attempt last year, was arrested by dozens of paramilitary rangers into an armored car inside the Islamabad High Court premises.

At a weekend rally in Lahore, Khan repeated accusations that senior intelligence officer Major-General Faisal Naseer was involved in an assassination attempt last year during which he was shot in the leg.

In response, the military's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wing claimed in a statement that "this fabricated and malicious allegation is extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable."

The government alleges that Khan's assassination attempt was the work of a lone gunman, who is now in custody and who confessed in a video controversially leaked to the media.