Supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan continued to take to the streets against their leader's arrest late on Tuesday too as they stormed the Pakistan Army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander's residence in Lahore. The protesters chanted slogans against the establishment and sought Khan's release.
The protest will continue on Wednesday too as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has urged party leaders, workers and supporters to gather at the Islamabad Judicial Complex on Wednesday morning.
A statement by PTI on Twitter read: "Important instructions from the party leadership: Senior leadership of Tehreek-e-Insaf and workers and supporters of Islamabad will arrive at Judicial Complex Islamabad at 8 am. The ongoing sit-ins and protests across the country will continue in their respective locations until the release of Imran Khan."
Khan was at the Islamabad High Court when the paramilitary Rangers broke open the glass window and arrested him on Tuesday afternoon. Interestingly, the arrest of the 70-year-old PTI chairman comes a day after the Army accused him of levelling allegations against a senior officer of the spy agency ISI.
His arrest sparked violence across several cities in the country. Protestors set police vehicles on fire and damaged public property. As per PTI sources, at least four people were killed and over a dozen injured in violent clashes between the security forces and the supporters of Khan.
"At least four PTI workers were killed so far in different parts of the country on the firing of the law enforcement agencies. One each has been killed in Lahore, Faisalabad, Quetta, and Swat," senior PTI leader Shireen Mazari said. The numbers could not be verified.
Meanwhile, section 144 has been imposed in many provinces, including Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. According to the Home Department, the ban on gatherings will remain in place for two days.
The Punjab government also requested the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to suspend Internet and mobile services in the areas of the province where violent protests took place.
Section 144 was already in place in Islamabad and authorities had warned of arresting people violating the ban on gathering following the arrest of Khan, police said.
PTI to approach SC
PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday said the party will approach the Supreme Court on Wednesday to challenge the Islamabad High Court’s upholding of party chairman Imran Khan’s arrest.
Fawad Chaudhry termed Islamabad High Court’s decision "surprising." He tweeted, "It is surprising that Islamabad High Court has declared the arrest of Imran Khan as legal, the arrest of Imran Khan without giving a decision on bail before his arrest is illegal, this decision is being challenged in the Supreme Court this morning."
Meanwhile, Khan is likely to be produced before the court on Wednesday. According to a report by Dawn, he is likely to remain under the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for four to five days. "We will do our best to keep him under custody for at least four to five days," the report quoted an unnamed source.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had started an investigation against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and others for the alleged gain of hundreds of canals of land in the name of Al Qadir University Trust, which reportedly caused a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer.
