Pakistan: Eight Dead, Thousands Arrested, Internet Blocked As Violent Protests Show No Signs Of Subsiding

Following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on 8 May from the Islamabad High Court, protests in Pakistan have continued for the third straight day, with no signs of subsiding.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) workers, Khan's political party, have stormed government buildings and blocked roads in response to Imran Khan's detention, prompting authorities to enact section 144.

According to reports, the PTI supporters had marched towards the general headquarters of Army in Rawalpindi, military controlled areas, corps commander’s residence in Lahore and other military managed areas.

The protests turned violent as police vehicles were vandalized and the residence of the corps commander was attacked in Lahore. Many vehicles were damaged using steel rods, bricks, stones, blocks, and batons.

The protests have spread to several cities, including Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar. Police forces used water cannons and batons to disperse the crowds, resulting in the deaths of more than eight civilians, according to reports.

To prevent further violence, mobile internet services have been shut down and continue to be restricted for the third consecutive day.

The Pakistani government has responded by arresting various senior leaders of PTI, including former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PTI spokesperson Fawad Chuadhary, for inciting violence against the government and the army.

More than 1,600 PTI workers have also been arrested, according to a report by Dawn.

Meanwhile, Pakistan current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a warning to protesters said “these terrorist and anti-state elements are being warned to desist from taking law into their hands, otherwise they will be dealt with iron hands.

Safeguarding the motherland and its ideology is more precious than their lives. We will not let their nefarious designs succeed".

Moreover the Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto has called for the end of violent protest in the country and asked the protestors to 'not make matters worse'.

"What has happened, has happened. Don’t make things more difficult for yourself," Bilawal said, adding that "now, don’t make matters worse [and] call for an end to violent protests and declare that you will abide by the rule of law and Constitution. Accept that you were will engage with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as citizens and not as terrorists".

Yesterday (10 May), the Pakistani Army was deployed in the Punjab province to maintain law and order.

Khan is accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, of receiving billions of rupees from a real estate firm to legalise laundered money that the UK returned to Pakistan during the tenure of his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) government.

The court granted the NAB an eight-day remand of Khan yesterday. In addition, another trial court in Islamabad has indicted Imran on the Toshkhana case, where he is accused of illegally selling gifts from foreign dignitaries for personal benefit.