Islamabad, Pakistan
CNN
—
Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, has appeared in court to answer corruption charges, a day after was dramatically arrested of the paramilitary troops, causing deadly clashes.
The charge relates to the sale of gifts sent to him by foreign leaders while he was in office. His lawyer told CNN that Khan denies the allegation.
Khan has alleged that he was “tortured and beaten all night” while in custody, his lawyer told CNN, adding that the former leader had “head bruises” when he met him at the judicial hearing
Khan was arrested on Tuesday in another corruption case, where he is accused of illegally acquiring land and construction for a university.
His lawyer told CNN that Khan has been placed in “preventive custody” for eight days after the court hearing, for the charge filed on Tuesday.
His arrest has fueled an already tense standoff between the country’s powerful military and its supporters, who took to the streets and sparked unprecedented scenes as angry mobs broke into and vandalized the homes of army personnel.
Three of his supporters were killed in clashes in Peshawar city and nearly 30 others were injured, a hospital spokesman said.
Clashes continued Wednesday with hundreds of Khan supporters storming the headquarters of national broadcaster Radio Pakistan in Peshawar, according to a CNN reporter at the scene.
Photos from the streets of Peshawar showed security forces firing tear gas into the crowd, some of whom were using slingshots.
Police said nearly 1,000 Khan supporters had been arrested in Punjab province after 25 police vehicles and more than 14 government buildings were set on fire, Reuters reported.
Authorities in three of Pakistan’s four provinces have also imposed an emergency order banning all gatherings, Reuters added.
Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s minister of planning and development, told reporters on Wednesday that Khan had “chosen a path to spread anarchy, chaos and destruction” to “shield himself from responsibility”.
“I want to ensure that there is no political revenge”, he added.
Wednesday’s hearing was held at the police station instead of a courthouse to “keep him away from the public,” police said.
Video before Khan’s arrest on Tuesday showed paramilitary forces smashing a window to get to the politician as he watched impassively as the chaos unfolded. Khan was then led into a vehicle surrounded by dozens of security officers and escorted away.
In a pre-recorded statement on YouTube by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party after his arrest, the former prime minister said he was “arrested on wrong charges” and told his supporters that ” the time has come for all of you to come and fight for your rights”.
“I have always followed the law. I am detained so that I cannot follow my political path for the fundamental rights of this country and to obey this corrupt government of thieves that has risen over us,” he said in the video.
Violent protests broke out in several cities that afternoon.
Khan’s supporters armed with sticks stormed army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi, on the outskirts of the capital, chanting in support of the former leader.
Protesters also blocked one of the main access roads to Islamabad, throwing stones and pulling down street signs. A police vehicle was set on fire and the police responded with tear gas.
Meanwhile, in the southwestern city of Quetta, a Khan supporter was shot dead by police at a protest, according to a CNN reporter at the scene.
Authorities blocked mobile internet services soon after in a bid to quell the chaos, cutting off access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in the nation of 270 million. According to the Association of Private Schools, private schools across the country were ordered to close on Wednesday.
At least 43 protesters were arrested in Islamabad on Tuesday, the city’s police said on Twitter.
Syed Baqir Sajjad, a Pakistan fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, said that while previous Pakistani leaders had been detained and politicians had challenged the military’s rule in the past, Khan’s significant public support make this situation “unique”.
“The risks facing Pakistan in this situation are numerous,” he said. “The image of the military as a unifying force and guardian of the State has been seriously questioned, which has caused a loss of public confidence in the institution. This, in turn, could lead to instability and social unrest.”
Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote last year and has since led a popular campaign against the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accusing it of colluding with the military to oust the position
The former star cricketer turned populist politician denies the charges leveled against him, instead accusing Sharif and the army of playing a political game. The army and Sharif – who was recently in the UK after attending the British monarch’s coronation – deny Khan’s allegations.
The tensions have pushed Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country of about 220 million people that has struggled with political instability for decades, into uncharted territory and often turned violent.
Last November, Khan survived a shooting at a political rally, in which he called on his party an attempted murder.
And in March, chaos erupted outside Khan’s home in Lahore after hundreds of his supporters defied police and paramilitary troops who had arrived to escort him. Officers were forced to call off the operation after the protests turned violent, one of multiple unsuccessful attempts by police to arrest Khan.
Khan’s claims have struck a chord with a young population in a country where anti-establishment sentiment is common, and are being fueled by a rising cost of living crisis as rising inflation makes common goods increasingly unaffordable.
“This has increased the pressure on the military establishment, which is feeling the heat more this time,” Sajjad said. “The intensity and consistency of Imran Khan’s attacks on the military, especially after he was removed from office last year, is unprecedented.”
Amid the crisis, the government has so far failed to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to restart a $6.5 billion loan program that has been stalled since November in an effort to keep the economy afloat .
The political upheaval appears to have boosted Khan’s popularity. Last year, his PTI party won local elections in the country’s most populous Punjab province, seen as a comeback test for national elections.
Political polarization and the economic crisis put Pakistan at “a critical moment” and the situation had “the potential to become a permanent crisis”, Sajjad said.
Pakistan’s future trajectory “will largely depend on how its leaders navigate the ongoing crises and whether they can find a way to address people’s grievances and restore stability,” he added.
