Mobocracy in the Making: Pakistan on edge after Imran Khan’s arrest

FP Staff • May 11, 2023, 16:09:49 IST

After former Pakistan PM Imran Khan was arrested Tuesday, his supporters in Islamabad and other cities went on a rampage, blocking roads, clashing with police and setting checkpoints and military facilities ablaze. The violence has killed eight protesters and left more than 200 cops injured

With former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan in custody, Pakistani authorities on Thursday cracked down on his supporters, arresting hundreds in overnight raids and sending troops across the country to rein in the wave of violence that followed his arrest earlier this week. AP

Supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan damage a car inside the compound of Radio Pakistan as they protest against the arrest of their leader, in Peshawar. After Khan was arrested on Tuesday, crowds in Islamabad and other major cities blocked roads and clashed with the police. AP

Police detain a supporter of Imran Khan who along with others are protesting against the arrest of their leader, in Karachi, Pakistan. They set fire to police checkpoints and military facilities in violence that left six people dead and hundreds arrested. AP

Supporters of Imran Khan remove tear gas shells fired by police to disperse them during a protest against the arrest of their leader, in Lahore. Clashes killed at least eight of his supporters and injured dozens. Five deaths were reported in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, two in the eastern city of Lahore and one in Quetta. More than 200 police officers were also injured. AP

Protesters throw a petrol bomb on water cannon against the arrest of their leader, in Lahore, Pakistan. The demonstrators burned down a railway station on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, on Wednesday night. AP

Khan’s supporters throw stones toward police next to a burning truck during a protest in Pakistan’s Lahore. The government called out the military on Wednesday in areas roiled by deadly violence. AP

Police fire tear gas to disperse protesters in Lahore. In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the unrest by Khan’s supporters “damaged sensitive public and private property," forcing him to deploy the military in the capital of Islamabad, the most populous province of Punjab and in volatile regions of the northwest. AP

Police detain a supporter of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan who with others are protesting against the arrest of their leader, in Lahore. “Such scenes were never seen by the people of Pakistan,” PM Sharif said, following a Cabinet meeting. “Even patients were taken out of ambulances and ambulances were set on fire.” AP

Angry protesters set the building of Radio Pakistan on fire while protesting against the arrest of their leader, in Peshawar. For the unversed, Imran Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year by Sharif, is being held at a police compound in Islamabad. AP

In Peshawar, angry supporters of Imran Khan set a car on fire during a protest. In a temporary court there, a judge ordered the 70-year-old politician detained for at least another eight days, raising the prospect of more unrest. AP

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