Protests Erupt In Pakistan Cities After Imran Khan Arrest
Police have fired water cannon and tear gas to quell protests that erupted in several cities across Pakistan hours after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested in connection with a corruption case.
Thousands of Khan’s supporters took to the streets on Tuesday in the capital Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and other cities to protest against his arrest.
In Islamabad, hundreds of PTI activists blocked the main Kashmir Highway, which suspended traffic on either side of the road.
“As the reports of Imran Khan’s arrest went across the country, protesters ‘took’ to the streets and arrests are being made,” Hyder said. “There is considerable anger as far as Imran Khan’s supporters are concerned, and the situation is escalating by the hour.”
Hyder added that officials anticipated the protests and have warned the public against participating in them.
“The inspector general of Islamabad police has said that anybody coming out to protest should be arrested,” he said.
Local broadcaster Geo News reported that police have arrested over a dozen of PTI workers after the two sides clashed at several points in the city.
“We will block the entire country and protest until Khan is released,” Waseem Qayyum, a protester, told dpa news agency.
In Lahore, the country’s second-largest city, protesters gathered outside the former prime minister’s Zaman Park residence and blocked the adjacent roads by burning tyres. Police used water cannons to disperse the protesters.
In the southern port city of Karachi, PTI supporters gathered outside the local party office located along the city’s busiest Shahrah-e-Faisal Road. Both tracks of the road near the PTI office were closed to traffic as heavy contingents of police cordoned off the area.
Police also hurled tear gas canisters to disperse the protesters when they tried to block the road.
A group of protesters pelted stones and burned tyres at Burns Road, the city’s famous food street, suspending traffic and forcing shopkeepers to pull their shutters.
In northwestern Landi Kotal town, which borders neighbouring Afghanistan, protesters blocked the Pak-Afghan highway at two points, Dawn News reported.
Aljazeera/Shakirat Sadiq
