Pakistan: High-security alert in Islamabad & Rawalpindi, Imran Khan shifted to Attock jail after handed 3-year sentence

Police have declared a high-security alert in Islamabad and Rawalpindi amid apprehensions of protests after the court’s verdict, Pakistan-based ARY News reported. Security has been beefed up after Imran Khan’s PTI party called for peaceful protests across the country within the ambit of the law and the Constitution. However, scores of party supporters and the public reportedly hit the street in support of the ex-Pakistan Prime Minister. Khan was shifted to Attock jail in Pakistan’s Punjab province amid tight security on Saturday after a trial court found the former prime minister guilty of “corrupt practices” in a corruption case and sentenced him to three years in prison.

📍 Pakistan High Comission right now overseas protest against the arrest of Imran Khan. pic.twitter.com/avTgTHqdqc

— Maheen Faisal (@MaheenFaisal20) August 5, 2023

A police spokesperson said that the federal police of Pakistan has declared a security alert in Islamabad. Police said, “All officers have been directed to remain in their respective areas and checking enhanced in all areas of the federal capital,” according to ARY News report. The police spokesperson further said that traffic flow has been routine and people can inform the police in case of any eventuality.

#PAKWatch: In less than an hour after former PM Imran Khan's arrest, PTI party supporters took to the streets in protest:pic.twitter.com/eCCxyTs7t6

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) August 5, 2023

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Rawalpindi police have been kept on high alert with special instructions given to police to tackle possible protests after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s arrest. A security alert has been declared within and outside Adiala jail, ARY News reported. Police personnel have been deployed at key roads of Rawalpindi. Police authorities have asked subordinates to keep vigil over the situation. Imran Khan is likely to be taken to Adiala Jail after his arrest in Lahore, ARY News reported citing sources. The case alleges that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief “deliberately concealed” details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana, a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept, during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales. Khan has been shifted to Attock Jail in the city of Attock, PTI spokesperson Zulifi Bokhari said. Police said that Khan was taken to jail amid tight security. “Security has been on high alert on the route leading to jail,” they said. It is the same jail where former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was kept after his arrest following the toppling of his government by former president Pervez Musharraf. Attock is located on the bank of the River Indus, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province lying on the opposite bank of the historic river. It is also the last major town of Punjab province along the Grand Trunk Road.