Pakistan arrests Imran Khan’s party leaders as protests continue
Arrests as government deploys army to end deadly unrest sparked three days ago following Khan’s arrest.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party has accused Pakistani authorities of arresting a senior leader as the government deploys the military to end deadly unrest sparked three days ago following Khan’s arrest.
Khan’s Pakistani party Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claimed on Thursday that Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who served as foreign minister in Khan’s cabinet during his four-year premiership, had been arrested overnight.
Two other PTI senior leaders, Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry, were also arrested on Wednesday.
Violence following Khan’s arrest on Tuesday by the country’s anti-corruption agency has exacerbated instability in the country of 220 million people as it grapples with a severe economic crisis and a delay in an International Monetary Fund bailout since November .
Protesters have stormed military buildings and looted the residence of an army general in the eastern city of Lahore. Other state buildings and properties have been attacked and set on fire by protesters.
At least five people have been killed in the violence.
The federal government on Wednesday approved requests from two of Pakistan’s four provinces — Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, both Khan strongholds — and the federal capital, Islamabad, to deploy troops to restore order.
Islamabad police said early Thursday morning that troops had reached the capital.
Police in Khan’s home province of Punjab have arrested more than 1,300 protesters over violence.
Separately, Khan was charged by a Pakistani court on Wednesday in an unrelated case for unlawfully selling state gifts during his prime ministership between 2018 and 2022.
The corruption cases against Khan are two of more than 100 cases registered against him since his removal in April 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence.
He has not slowed down his campaign against his removal, even after being injured in an attack in November.