- By Vibeke Venema and Caroline Davies
- London and Islamabad
May 10, 2023 06:58 BST
Updated 1 hour ago
Image source: Getty Images
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Mr Khan’s arrest on corruption charges has sparked protests across Pakistan
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges a day after his arrest sparked nationwide protests.
According to police, eight people died in the protests across the country and about 1,000 were arrested.
The army is deployed in some areas and has issued a strict warning after crowds attacked their properties.
Mr Khan’s arrest resulted in a dramatic escalation of tensions between Mr Khan and the military at a time of economic crisis.
A conviction would disqualify the former cricket star – prime minister from 2018 to 2022 – from running for office, possibly for life. Elections are due later this year.
Security is tight at the police guesthouse where he is being held and which also serves as the courtroom.
On Wednesday, Mr Khan was charged in a case brought by the Electoral Commission for unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister.
He denies the allegations and says he has complied with all legal requirements.
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Watch: Peacocks kidnapped as Khan protesters damage army compound
It was the first of dozens of formal charges brought against him.
For months he had evaded arrest, and his supporters had at times clashed with the police to keep him out of custody.
Tuesday’s arrest was based on a new warrant in a separate corruption case linked to the alleged land transfer for Al-Qadir University near Islamabad. The judge held Mr Khan in custody for eight days in the case.
One of his lawyers, Sher Afzal Marwat, said his client is doing well and sent the message to supporters not to give up: “You have to stand up for the rule of law,” Mr Khan said.
His Pakistani party Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said it would challenge the legality of his arrest in court.
Action by Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency has sparked violent protests across the country.
The government has called in the army to maintain order in several regions of the country including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan and Islamabad.
In a televised address to the nation, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned that violent protests would not be tolerated.
“The perpetrators who take the law into their own hands are dealt with with an iron fist,” he said.
Extraordinary scenes Tuesday night showed Mr Khan’s supporters ransacking the corps commander’s residence in Lahore, smashing chandeliers and get away with peacocks – among other things – which they said had been bought with “citizen money”.
The Pakistani army described May 9 as a “dark day” and warned protesters of an “extreme response” if attacks on state property resumed.
Image Credit: Rex/Shutterstock
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Imran Khan at his residence in Lahore in March
Police in Islamabad tried using shipping containers to block routes to the compound where Imran Khan was appearing before a judge.
The BBC witnessed clashes between protesters and police in the middle of one of Islamabad’s main highways.
After midday, protesters rallied, some wearing PTI flags or Imran Khan face masks.
Shortly after they began gathering, tear gas canisters were fired into the crowd. The demonstrators tried to knock off the metal casings with their sticks. There were no arrests in the 90 minutes that the BBC was present.
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Police use tear gas grenades against supporters of Imran Khan
“We came to protest peacefully but these police officers are shooting at us,” a man carrying stones and a stick and wearing a surgical mask told the BBC.
“Until we die or until they release Imran, we will continue this protest. Otherwise we will lock down the whole country.”
Mr Khan was ousted last April, less than four years into his tenure as prime minister.
In November he was shot in the leg amid a crowd in the city of Wazirabad during an election campaign. He has accused a senior intelligence official of carrying out the attack – an accusation firmly denied by the military. A day before his arrest, the military warned Mr Khan not to repeat the allegation.
Mr Khan’s party says he faces more than 100 trials which he says are politically motivated.
His supporters argue that the current government wants to ban him from voting in October’s general elections.
dr Shireen Mazari, the former human rights minister in Mr Khan’s PTI government, told the BBC that the way Mr Khan was arrested was tantamount to a state kidnapping.
“We don’t expect even the military to abuse the sanctity of the court in this way,” she said, adding that the people of Pakistan “seemed with anger” at the way he was treated, as well as the broader ones economic problems.
However, the Islamabad High Court ruled that the arrest was legal.
Image source: Getty Images
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Police officers guard a roadside in Karachi
“Mr Imran Khan will face the law if he is innocent, [he] can contest the election. But if he is found guilty of corruption, he will face the consequences,” Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told a news conference on Wednesday.
Police have arrested supporters of Mr Khan’s party, including its secretary-general, Asad Umar.
Mobile internet services remain severely restricted across the country. Pakistan’s telecom authorities said they had suspended the service on orders from the Interior Ministry.
Schools also remain closed, some motorways are closed and there is little traffic on the streets of major cities.
Many analysts believe Mr Khan’s election victory in 2018 came about with the help of the military. But amid a deepening economic crisis, observers say, he fell out of favor with the powerful military, the key behind-the-scenes player in nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Since he has been in opposition, he has been one of the military’s most vocal critics.
Additional reporting by Farhat Javed, Usman Zahid and Malik Mudassir in Islamabad and Kelly Ng in Singapore