Protests erupt in Pakistan after ex-premier Khan’s arrest

Islamabad, May 9, (dpa/GNA) – Huge crowds rallied in major Pakistani cities on Tuesday, to protest the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on allegations of corruption.

At least one worker for Khan’s party was killed in Quetta, Shireen Mazari, former minister and senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Inasaf (PTI) told the media.

Protests erupted after Khan was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court.

“We will block the entire country and protest until Khan is released,” Waseem Qayyum, a protester, told dpa.

Qayyum was accompanied by a small group of PTI members, who had come from the Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to express solidarity with Khan at the court hearing.

“They [the government] have no idea about the power of the masses,” another protester, Haji Shafiq Jadoon, told dpa.

Military installations and buildings were particularly targeted by the protesters in several cities, as they believe that the army was behind the move to arrest Khan.

The protesters broke into a services club and vandalized the military facility in the eastern city of Lahore.

In Rawalpindi, the protesters stormed the gate of the military’s headquarters in an unprecedented move.

GNA