Islamabad, May 11, (dpa/GNA) – A tense calm prevailed in Pakistan on Thursday after the deployment of the armed forces in different regions to quell deadly riots after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.
There was little traffic on streets that remained deserted with schools closed for the second day in a row, as troops patrolled the capital Islamabad, the central province of Punjab and the north-western region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
“We have called in army to stop violence,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told the media on Wednesday night.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned protestors in a televised address as he defended the Tuesday’s arrest of Khan on graft charges.
The army’s deployment came after deadly protests on Wednesday in which at least eight people were killed and around 300 were wounded, Sanaullah said.
Khan’s violent supporters fought battles with police in several cities, and burned state buildings, public and private vehicles on Wednesday after storming the key army compounds a day earlier.
A court in Islamabad remanded Khan in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an autonomous anti-graft agency, to probe a multi-million-dollar property deal involving a real estate tycoon.
Also on Wednesday, another court began Khan’s trial for allegedly stealing gifts he received from other countries as premier between 2018 and 2022.
Both the charges could end his political career and land him in jail.
Pakistani politics have been in disarray since Khan was removed in a parliamentary vote of no confidence last year.
The nation is at risk of default due to low productivity levels, with the aftermath of the disastrous flooding in September 2022 further weighing on the economy.
GNA