ISLAMABAD—Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan was detained and taken from court Tuesday as he appeared to face charges in numerous fraud cases, a dramatic escalation of political tensions that spurred violent protests around the nation by his enraged fans.
The arrest of Khan, who was removed in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains the prominent opposition figure, marked the latest clash in Pakistan, which has seen past prime ministers imprisoned and military interventions over the years.
At least one person was killed and five others were injured in skirmishes between demonstrators and the military in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, while similar violence was reported in Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and Lahore. To disperse protests, police used tear gas.
In the midst of the carnage, authorities from Pakistan's telecommunications department said they had blocked social media platforms such as Twitter, and internet access had been interrupted in the capital of Islamabad and other locations. Some private school classes were canceled on Wednesday.
According to Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Khan was dragged from the Islamabad High Court by National Accountability Bureau security agents and then thrown into an armored car and rushed away.
Outside the court, a brawl erupted between Khan's supporters and police. According to Chaudhry, some of Khan's attorneys and supporters were hurt in the scuffle, as did numerous police officers.
According to police and government authorities, Khan was transferred to the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, for questioning at the National Accountability Bureau's offices. According to authorities, he was also scheduled to get a standard medical examination.
Khan had come at the Islamabad High Court from his hometown of Lahore to face corruption accusations.
He has described the proceedings against him, which include terrorist charges, as a politically motivated scheme by his replacement, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, claiming that his removal was unlawful and the result of a Western conspiracy. Khan has run a campaign against Sharif and has called for early elections.
The arrest on Tuesday was based on a fresh warrant issued by the National Accountability Bureau last week in a different graft case in which Khan had not been granted bail. His attorneys contested the arrest's legitimacy, but the judge supported it, adding that Khan should not have been violently taken from the courtroom. According to authorities, Khan is expected to appear before an anti-graft panel on Wednesday.
“Imran Khan has been arrested because he was being sought in a graft case,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said during a news briefing. He said that while Khan was in charge, Pakistan's treasury lost millions of dollars owing to fraudulent land acquisitions from a business mogul.
The National Accountability Bureau is a formidable anti-corruption institution in Pakistan that has imprisoned and investigated former leaders such as prime ministers, legislators, and retired military personnel. However, some see the NAB as a weapon used by those in authority, particularly the military, to repress political opponents. When Khan was in power, his administration used the NAB to arrest Sharif, the opposition leader at the time.
Khan was detained, according to Law Minister Azam Tarar, because he was not complying with the investigations. He also condemned Khan supporters' violence, adding that protests must be nonviolent.
“It should have not happened,” he said, shortly after TV video emerged of burning vehicles and damaged public property in parts of the country.
Authorities in the eastern province of Punjab have declared demonstrations illegal.
while word of Khan's detention spread, some 4,000 supporters attacked the official mansion of the senior regional commander in Lahore, breaking windows and doors, destroying furniture, and holding a sit-in while forces fled to prevent bloodshed. Protesters also set fire to police cars and blocked major roadways.
Protesters also destroyed the main gate of the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi, where troops maintained order. Hundreds of protesters marched toward the enormous edifice, shouting pro-Khan chants.
Khan is Pakistan's eighth former prime minister to be arrested. In 1979, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was captured and executed. Nawaz Sharif, the current prime minister's brother and a former prime minister, was detained multiple times on corruption charges.
In March, police invaded Khan's Lahore home, trying to arrest him on the basis of a court order in another case. Several individuals, including police officers, were hurt in the subsequent fights. Khan was not arrested at the time and was later released on bail.
Khan came to power in 2018 after winning legislative elections, and his relationship with the military began to deteriorate.
