Islamabad: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (party) has called for a nationwide shutdown on Wednesday against the arrest of its chief Imran Khan in a corruption case, sparking fears of large-scale violence in the country for the second day. Imran was arrested on Tuesday by the country’s paramilitary forces on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when he was present at the Islamabad High Court for a hearing in a corruption case. Following the arrest of former cricketer Imran Khan (70), his party supporters staged massive protests across the country.
The Islamabad High Court later said that the PTI chief’s arrest was legal, but the manner in which he was held was illegal. The court also decided to conduct a hearing against the Islamabad police chief and the home secretary in this regard. The PTI leadership strongly condemned the arrest of the party president and called for a nationwide shutdown on Wednesday. According to reports, they (PTI leaders) called upon the countrymen to take to the streets in a big way against the “growing fascism” in Pakistan and told their supporters that the situation of “do or die” has arrived.
As soon as the news of Imran’s arrest spread, large scale protests started in the country. Stick-wielding supporters of the PTI chief targeted the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army and other defense establishments. They also violated prohibitory orders imposed under Section 144 in various parts of Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces. In Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi and Rawalpindi, Imran supporters have done large-scale violence and vandalism. Reports claimed that at least three people were killed and a large number of vehicles and buildings damaged in violent clashes on Tuesday in protest against Imran’s arrest in Pakistan.
According to NAB sources, Imran is likely to be produced before the accountability court on Wednesday. The police announced that there would be a high level of security during Imran’s appearance in the court and only relevant people and lawyers would be allowed entry into the court premises. Imran is also likely to be produced in another court on Wednesday in the Toshakhana case. The court had already fixed the date of indictment against him in this case. The case is based on allegations of concealment of income earned by the former Prime Minister from the sale of official gifts.
Meanwhile, Imran’s supporters are sending messages on social media urging people to take to the streets in Islamabad to press for his early release. Earlier, the PTI leadership in a late night meeting decided to continue the countrywide protest against Imran’s arrest. However, the party distanced itself from the incidents of violence and vandalism, saying that those who wanted to ban PTI had joined the crowd of protesters and they were the ones who committed the violence. The Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) in Punjab province has announced the closure of all colleges and universities as well as the postponement of an exam scheduled for Wednesday. HED Secretary Javed Akhtar Mehmood confirmed that all colleges and universities will remain closed. All government and private schools in Punjab will also remain closed on Wednesday.
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