Chef justice determines Imran to have hearing session in the supreme court in order to bring reconciliations. Beard in mind, as the arrest of Imran khan brings escalation and chaos in the entire region of Pakistan. Pakistan is on the edge, again, following Imran Khan’s indictment.
His arrest at a court in Islamabad on Tuesday has escalated long-simmering political tensions. Thousands of Khan’s supporters protested in a show of anger – much of it directed at the military.
Pakistan is already dealing with multiple challenges – from an economic crisis to the aftermath of catastrophic floods.
Could his arrest plunge the country into turmoil? Al Jazeera’s Inside Story discusses this and more.
Khan’s arrest is abduction, entirely illegal: Senior PTI leader
Murad Saeed, a senior leader of Khan’s party, says the manner in which the former prime minister was arrested was “abduction and entirely illegal”.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Saeed, said the response from the public to Khan’s arrest showed the former prime minister’s popularity.
Saeed denied that party workers were behind violent protests and rioting which damaged multiple public and private properties, including military installations, across the country.
“You must have seen that PTI has been conducting public rallies and demonstrations since last one year after our government was removed. Our supporters know exactly which area we gather to conduct our protests, but this time in our midst were some elements who did not belong to the party,” Saeed claimed.
Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the UN, says the situation in the country is extremely serious.
“It is a very serious situation. It is probably the most serious political and constitutional crisis that Pakistan has faced in many, many decades. It comes on the back of a serious economic crisis. What you have is a perfect storm in Pakistan right now,” Lodhi told Al Jazeera from the capital Islamabad.
“I think the government is struggling to maintain law and order. Protesters are turning violent and it doesn’t look as if the unrest is beginning to in any way fade.”
Another PTI leader arrested
A senior PTI official, Fawad Chaudhry, has been arrested outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad, the party has said.
PTI said the arrest was carried out despite Chaudhry having been granted protective bail by the Islamabad High Court until May 12.
“He was arrested despite possessing a bail, granted to him by Islamabad High Court which specifically barred his arrest till May 12,” Faisal Fareed Chaudhry, his brother and a PTI lawyer, told Al Jazeera.
“We are facing a challenge and as part of that this [also] happened that I’m being arrested like this from the Supreme Court’s premises,” Chaudhry, who was the federal minister for information and broadcasting during PTI’s government, said outside the court before his arrest.