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Agencies

Pakistan’s top court on Thursday ordered the anti-corruption agency to release former Prime Minister Imran Khan from its custody, broadcaster Geo TV reported.
Khan’s arrest on Tuesday in a land fraud case sparked deadly and widespread protests across the South Asian country, prompting the government to call in the army to help restore order.
Supreme Court chief justice Umar Ata Bandial asked Khan to issue an appeal to his supporters to remain peaceful, as the country faced growing turmoil in its streets.
Khan told the Supreme Court he had “no idea” what happened after his arrest and urged that no damage be done to the country and for party members to stay peaceful, according to the ARY news channel.
Pakistan’s Imran Khan arrested, in move slammed by his party as an ‘abduction’
The Supreme Court then declared the arrest of the former prime minister “invalid”.
“Your arrest was invalid so the whole process needs to be backtracked,” Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial told Khan at the hearing in the capital Islamabad.
Khan told the court he had been “treated like a terrorist”.
Security forces patrolled streets across Pakistan on Thursday and detained supporters of Khan.
Several thousand enraged supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have for two days rampaged through cities around the country, setting fire to buildings and blocking roads.
At least nine people have died since Tuesday, police and hospitals said.
Hundreds of police officers have been injured and more than 2,000 people arrested, mostly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, police added.
At least eight officials from PTI’s central leadership accused of orchestrating the protests were also detained, Islamabad police said.
Security forces have responded with tear gas and water cannon to quell the crowds and on Thursday came equipped with batons and riot shields.
Supporters turning up to a protest venue in Karachi were swiftly rounded up while in Islamabad police beat handcuffed PTI supporters, journalists witnessed.

The former cricket superstar, who remains wildly popular, was ousted in April 2022 in a no-confidence vote in parliament after he lost the support of Pakistan’s powerful military.
Khan has said the dozens of legal cases brought against him following his ousting are part of an effort by the government and the army to prevent him from returning to power ahead of elections due in the autumn.
The military earlier issued a strongly worded statement saying it was exercising “extreme restraint”.
It warned of a “severe reaction” to any further attacks on state and military facilities, and said responsibility will lie with “a group that wants to push Pakistan into civil war”.
Khan’s party dismissed the statement as “contrary to facts and the situation on the ground”.
The government on Wednesday approved the deployment of the army in two provinces – including Punjab, the most populous -– and in the capital to restore peace.
Islamabad police said troops had overnight entered Islamabad’s sensitive “red zone” where government buildings are housed.
The interior ministry has ordered mobile internet services cut and restricted access to social media sites Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, Pakistan’s communications agency said.
Authorities also closed schools nationwide – with year-end exams cancelled.
“People should protest but it doesn’t mean setting fire and damaging government property, or harming poor people and damaging their cars,” said 45-year-old Syed Muzaffar Shah in the city of Peshawar.
Pakistan arrests ex-PM Khan’s party leaders after deploying army to quell unrest
Pakistan is struggling through a severe economic downturn, brought about in part by the deepening political instability of the past year, with the rupee plummeting to a record low against the dollar on Thursday.
Khan’s arrest came hours after the military rebuked him for alleging that a senior officer was involved in a plot to assassinate him. The army has denied the accusation.
Criticism of Pakistan’s military establishment is considered a red line.
Pakistani politicians have frequently been arrested and jailed since the country’s founding in 1947.
But few have so directly challenged a military which holds significant influence over domestic politics and foreign policy and that has staged at least three coups and ruled for more than three decades.

Khan on Wednesday went before a specially convened court which remanded him in custody for eight days following a request by Pakistan’s top anti-corruption agency, the National Accountability Bureau, one of his lawyers said.
The agency earlier said Khan had ignored repeated court summons over alleged corruption linked to a trust fund he set up with his wife, a spiritual healer.
Khan was also indicted without being arrested over separate accusations he mislead officials about gifts he received from foreign leaders while in power, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on all parties in the crisis to refrain from violence.
While the United Nations High Commissioner for Human rights Volker Turk urged Pakistan security forces to show “restraint” and said “protesters should refrain from violence”.
“Freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and rule of law are key to resolving political conflicts – with no place for disproportionate force,” Turk tweeted.
Report by Reuters, Agence France Presse, Associated Press


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Pakistan

Pakistan top court orders ex-PM Imran Khan’s release from custody, calls arrest ‘invalid’

A supporter holds a poster of Imran Khan during a protest. Photo: EPA-EFE

Police officers with riot gear prepare to quell the crowds in Pakistan. Photo: AP

A car burnt-out in clashes between police and the supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan. Photo: AP 

Pakistan arrests ex-PM Khan’s party leaders after deploying army to quell protests

Police fire teargas shells toward activists and supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran during a protest against the arrest of the ex-leader. Photo: AFP

Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan clash with police after violent protests broke out across the country following Khan’s arrest. Photo: EPA-EFE

A Pakistani security officer fires tear gas at a protest by supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan. Photo: dpa

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan remanded in custody for 8 days amid uproar

A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party activist and supporter of former Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan uses a slingshot to throw a stone at police during a protest against the arrest of their leader. Photo: AFP

Flames engulf a police vehicle after violent protests broke out across Pakistan following the arrest of Imran Khan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Pakistan’s Imran Khan arrested, in move slammed by his party as an ‘abduction’

Supporters of Imran Khan in Hyderabad, Pakistan, chant slogans next to burning tyres to condemn his arrest. Photo: AP

Imran Khan speaking at a rally in Lahore on March 26, 2023. Photo: AP

PTI activists and supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan protest against his arrest in Karachi. Photo: AFP 

Supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan take cover after riot police officers fire tear gas to disperse them during clashes, in Lahore, Pakistan on March 15, 2023. Photo: AP

Man accused of blasphemy beaten to death at pro-Imran Khan rally in Pakistan

Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party march during a rally in Peshawar on Saturday. The victim was beaten to death at a separate rally in ultraconservative northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Photo: EPA-EFE

Pakistan speeds towards full-blown crisis with Imran Khan’s foot on the accelerator

Supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan gather during a protest in Karachi last month demanding the release of party workers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf who were arrested following recent clashes with police. Photo: AFP

Supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan gather during a protest in Karachi demanding the release of party workers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf who were arrested following clashes with police. Photo: AFP

Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan take cover after riot police fire tear gas to disperse them during clashes in Lahore last month. Photo: AP

Pakistan’s current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has resisted holding early elections, saying the country needs to focus on reviving an International Monetary Fund bailout package and avoiding a default. Photo: Reuters

Security personnel hold bulletproof shields over Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan (centre) after he appeared in a court in Lahore last month. Photo: AP

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Asia

South Asia

Pakistan’s top court on Thursday ordered the anti-corruption agency to release former PM Imran Khan from its custody
Khan’s arrest sparked deadly and widespread protests, prompting the government to call in the army to help restore order


The anti-corruption agency was ordered to release former Prime Minister Imran Khan from its custody, following his arrest on Tuesday that sparked deadly and widespread protests.
