Intelligence agencies to blame for violence: Imran Khan's party

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Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party accused the country's intelligence agencies of being behind the violence that broke out all over the country, which included shootings and arson, in the wake of his arrest last week.

This comes after Khan upped his criticism of the country's strong military, accusing the army chief of harboring a "personal grudge" against him and demanding his imprisonment and a crackdown on his party.

Khan explained that the problem is of a personal nature, "It is personal. It's got nothing to do with national interest."

Furthermore, the former premier made explosive claims about the military's involvement in politics, including that it plotted with the United States to oust him from power and that senior officials planned a November assassination attempt in which he was shot in the leg while campaigning for fresh polls. 

He also named a senior intelligence services general and Sharif as being responsible for the attack.

Khan urged his supporters on Saturday to keep protesting across the country just days after they clashed with security forces, triggered by his arrest.

At least nine people were murdered in the disturbance, which saw violent clashes break out with the police, government buildings set on fire, and military sites damaged.

It is uncommon in Pakistan's political establishment for the military, which has carried out three coups and has a significant impact on both domestic and foreign affairs, to be openly criticized. 

"We have ample amount of evidence to present to any inquiry that the arson and in some places, shootings were done by (intelligence) agencies men who wanted to cause mayhem and blame it on PTI so the current crackdown would be justified," the party said in a statement.

"PTI believes that identification of elements involved in this unusual incident of violence and chaos through a credible investigation is inevitable," the statement said. 

More than 7,000 people have been detained or arrested since the unrest broke out. At least 19 senior PTI officials have been arrested after they were accused of instigating violence.

The PTI statement came a day after top commanders vowed to try those involved in damaging military installations in military courts.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government has vowed to rearrest Khan, saying he would open more anti-terrorism courts to try those accused of anti-state behavior during the protests.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it was "deeply concerned by reports of random arrests and cases filed arbitrarily against PTI workers across Pakistan".

Pakistani broadcaster GEO TV reported Thursday that the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that the arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is unlawful and ordered his immediate release.

Khan was taken into custody earlier in the week by authorities following a hearing on the Al-Qadir Trust case. 

He was later freed on bail former after his "unlawful" arrest on corruption accusations this week provoked fatal protests.

Khan was also granted bail in other ongoing matters, and the court decided that he could not be detained again until Monday.

The army maintains its stance on denying Khan's claims and has warned against any efforts to spread "misperceptions" against the institution. 

The former Premier's arrest followed 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.