Imran Khan’s arrest in Pakistan: A quick guide to the arrest, protests, and more

Here’s a quick guide on the developments:

📌 What happened? Imran Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court premises at around 2.15 pm on Tuesday afternoon. It had been in the cards for weeks and followed previous failed attempts to arrest the ex-PM from his Lahore residence in March 2023.

📌 How it unfolded: The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was in the biometric room of the courthouse when he was taken into custody. He was arrested by Pakistan Rangers, a federal paramilitary law enforcement agency. Videos showed that when PTI workers refused to open the door, the Rangers broke off the glass windows to enter the room.

📌  Allegations of violence: A lawyer for the PTI alleged that the Rangers had beaten up Khan’s security personnel, other workers present in the room, and the former Prime Minister himself during the arrest. Barrister Gohar Khan said that Imran Khan was tortured by the Rangers and they hit him on his head and injured leg (Khan was wounded after he was shot at in November 2022) with rods and threw away his wheelchair.

📌 Govt reacts: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told the media that Imran has been detained in the case after he repeatedly failed to appear before the court despite being issued several notices. “The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury,” he added.

📌 Why was he arrested? Khan has been arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case, in which he and his wife Bushra Bibi have been accused of illegally purchasing land from a business tycoon. As per a report in Pakistan-based daily Dawn, they are facing a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry for allegedly “accepting Rs 5 billion and hundreds of kanals (of land) from Bahria Town [an Islamabad-based real estate company] in exchange for protecting the firm in a money laundering case.”

📌 Where is he now? PTI leaders have alleged that he has been moved to a “secret location” and expressed fear that the ex-PM maybe tortured. Pakistan media reported that Khan will be presented at the New Police Guest House, Police Lines Headquarters in Islamabad on May 10.

📌 Protests across Pak: Protesters took to the streets in several parts of the country, clashing with the police and other security personnel. At least one person has been killed so far and five others wounded in Quetta. Several others were reportedly injured in violence in Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore as well.

📌 Internet shut off: Mobile and internet services have been suspended across the country in light of the developments. Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have been restricted in parts of Pakistan and a “total internet shutdowns have been observed in some regions,” reported Dawn.

📌 Khan’s damning video: The arrest comes hours after Khan released a video alleging that a senior military officer currently in service has tried to kill him multiple times. “This man tried to kill me twice and whenever an investigation is carried out, I will prove that it was this man and there is a whole gang with him,” he had said, adding, “My question is: [Despite being] a country’s ex-prime minister — because this man’s name has come forward — [why was] I unable to register a first information report (FIR)?”

📌 World reacts: Countries like the United States, Britain and Canada have issued new travel advisories for their citizens, advising caution. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said during a news conference: “We just want to make sure that whatever happens in Pakistan is consistent with the rule of law, with the constitution.”

(With inputs from agencies)