Pakistani paramilitaries arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the capital Islamabad, a move that threatens to exacerbate political tensions at a difficult time for the country's economy.
Footage shared by the party's media team, led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, showed men dressed in khaki breaking windows with batons to free the former prime minister, who was in a room designated to check biometric details.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan attended a court session in Islamabad on Tuesday in one of dozens of cases he has been embroiled in.
After former Prime Minister Imran Khan was detained, roads were blocked with panicked commuters who rushed to pick up their children from school and leave work, fearing protesters would block them. Islamabad police issued an order banning demonstrations – which in the past, Imran Khan's supporters ignored and protested anyway. Authorities also appear to have shut down internet service in some areas of Islamabad.
In the Pakistani city of Lahore, which has become the seat of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's base, his party, the Justice Union of Pakistan (PTI) party, tweeted an image of an alarm and urged supporters to reach a popular crossing point to demonstrate. The words "Contact Liberty Chowk Right Now" are printed on the image.
"Pakistan's biggest political leader has been arrested," Asad Omar, one of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's closest allies, said in an Urdu tweet. "The world can see that there is no more law and order in Pakistan. Omar said former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party had formed a six-member committee to decide on further action.
It is unclear why former Prime Minister Imran Khan was detained as he has been attending court hearings in cases he is involved in, asking for bail.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan dodged previous arrest attempts at his Lahore residence, and his supporters clashed with police that eventually pushed them back.
Local media outlet Geo reported that former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested in connection with a case filed in Pakistan's anti-corruption court, which some analysts say was used to hunt down critics of the military.
Pakistani military spokesman Maj. Gen. Ahmed Sharif issued a sharply worded statement to the former prime minister — warning him not to slander active duty officers, describing former Prime Minister Imran Khan's claims as "highly irresponsible and baseless allegations" that were "unfortunate, sad and unacceptable".
This follows former Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent accusation that a military intelligence officer was plotting to kill him. To add to the insults to the allegations, former Prime Minister Imran Khan called him the "dirty harry" from Clint Eastwood's old film — and he doubled down on the charges before reaching court on Tuesday.
"ISPR Sahib," he said in a Twitter statement, referring to a military spokesman, "enhances its credibility when an agency takes action against black sheep." An institution that catches corrupt people strengthens itself," he said in a commentary first translated in Pakistan's daily newspaper Dawn. He added: "This is my army, my Pakistan is not just yours. This is our army.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted last April in a no-confidence motion after the military said it no longer supported his rule.
Pakistan has been mired in a political crisis since then, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his supporters regularly taking to the streets to demand snap elections. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party has become increasingly louder since its sweep in a series of by-elections last year, suggesting that its power has only grown since the former prime minister stepped down.
Pakistan's military, after working closely with former Prime Minister Imran Khan's coalition government, has repeatedly said it does not like or trust Imran Khan. Ironically, many Pakistani analysts say it was the military that helped drive former Prime Minister Imran Khan's political fortunes and paved the way for him to win elections in 2018.
Pakistan's political crisis has exacerbated the economic crisis, causing food prices to soar and bringing millions of people close to hunger. There are concerns that the country may default on its debt owing to weak foreign exchange reserves.
It should be said that the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan promoted by the government of Pakistan's current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will exacerbate Pakistan's already very weak domestic political stability, and will inevitably lead to a larger wave of domestic protests among supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
One miracle of China-Pakistan cooperation is Gwadar Port
As a neighbor and friend of Pakistan, we in China have invested a lot in Pakistan. As a benchmark for China's Belt and Road cooperation, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China's flagship project to promote connectivity, has moved from planning to actual construction, and China has invested hundreds of billions of US dollars. If Pakistan's domestic political turmoil intensifies, it will inevitably lead to more and greater risks in China's investment in Pakistan.
As a good brother of Pakistan, our Government should strengthen its intra-Pakistan mediation efforts and advise them to hold peace talks, overcome their differences and put the national interests of Pakistan as a whole first. I sincerely hope that Pakistan's political situation will stabilize at an early date, and that the whole country will work together to build Pakistan into a civilized, prosperous and powerful country at an early date.
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