Pakistan: army deployed across country as unrest triggered by Imran Khan arrest continues

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Pakistan: army deployed across country as unrest triggered by Imran Khan arrest continues

Supporters have vowed to stay on streets until former PM is released while two more leaders from his party have been detained

Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent
Thu 11 May 2023 07.06 BST
Last modified on Thu 11 May 2023 08.05 BST

Violence continued to erupt in Pakistan after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, with the death toll rising to nine and the military deployed across the country.

Overnight, two more leaders from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were arrested. PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry was arrested late on Wednesday night, despite having obtained protective bail from the courts, and early on Thursday Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who served as foreign minister in Khan’s cabinet, was picked up by police. PTI’s former finance minister, Asad Umar, was also arrested on Wednesday.

Islamabad police said the PTI leaders had been arrested “for inciting arson and violent protests under a well-thought out plan for threatening peace.” Seven cases have also been filed against PTI’s top leaders, including Khan, for an attack that took place by PTI supporters on the home of a senior military officer.

Seven people were killed and dozens were injured after clashes broke out between protesters and police in the city of Peshawar on Wednesday, according to the local government. One person died from smoke inhalation after a building was set ablaze in Lahore and another was shot near a military checkpoint in the city of Quetta.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/11/pakistan-army-deployed-across-country-as-unrest-triggered-by-imran-khan-arrest-continues

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[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Imran Khan: Pakistan's Supreme Court rules arrest was illegal

The court ordered Mr Khan's immediate release. His lawyers had argued that his detention from court premises in Islamabad on Tuesday was unlawful.

At least 10 people have been killed and 2,000 arrested as violent protests have swept the country since he was held.
...
Mr Khan has been kept at a police guesthouse in the capital since Tuesday. It remained unclear when he would be allowed to leave - the Supreme Court turned down his request to move to his own accommodation saying he should remain where he is for his own safety.

The guesthouse was turned into a makeshift court on Wednesday where a judge formally charged him with corruption for the first time in the dozens of cases he faces. He pleaded not guilty.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65561807

So, "not under arrest", but not allowed to move where he wants to, ie his home ...