In Rawalpindi, Imran Khan’s supporters broke down the main gate of the massive army headquarters.
His supporters protesting the arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan have entered the army commanders’ residence complex in Lahore. Media footage also showed him storming the army headquarters in Rawalpindi. The building of Radio Pakistan in Peshawar has also been set on fire. The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was arrested today when he was entering the Islamabad High Court to hear a case.
Protests broke out across Pakistan soon after his arrest by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters. Prohibitory orders were imposed across Islamabad banning large gatherings. Islamabad Police said, “Section 144 is in force and action will be taken in case of violation.”
Geo News reported that apart from Islamabad, protests broke out in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar and Mardan.
Imran Khan’s supporters in Rawalpindi broke down the main gate of the massive army headquarters and raised slogans against the establishment. However, the soldiers exercised restraint.
In Lahore, during a demonstration in the Cantonment area, a large number of PTI workers barged into the Corps Commander’s residence and broke the gate and window panes.
The army personnel did not try to stop the angry protesters, who surrounded them and raised slogans against the PML-N-led government’s ‘masters’ at the military establishment.
In Karachi and Rawalpindi, protesters clashed with police, with reports saying police fired tear gas to control the crowd. Videos from the scene showed them chanting “Release Imran Khan,” and “Shut down Pakistan.”
PTI urged its supporters to protest, tweeting it was a “now or never” opportunity.
The arrest came a day after the Army accused Mr Khan of making baseless allegations against a senior official of spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence. Mr Khan had accused top ISI officer Major General Faisal Naseer of being involved in the assassination attempt against him in Wazirabad.
He also claimed that Major Naseer was involved in the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif.
Amidst the allegations and the army’s response, questions have arisen whether Mr Khan’s dramatic arrest can be attributed only to the allegations against him.