Detained former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has arrived in court after the Supreme Court ruled his arrest earlier this week “unlawful”.
The dramatic arrest on Tuesday triggered clashes with police and paramilitary forces across the country, killing nearly a dozen people. The army was called in to restore order.
Police in capital Islamabad have imposed an emergency order banning gathering of more than four people as Khan’s supporters are expected to march to the capital.
Opinion: Khan’s arrest has exploded Pakistan’s reservoir of rage
Hyperbole is something that comes easy to Pakistanis, especially when it comes to politics, and in the political lexicon of Pakistan, the word ‘unprecedented’ has been overused to the point of becoming meaningless. Every once in a while though, it fits.
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After the dramatic arrest of wheelchair-bound former prime minister and chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court by a large contingent of paramilitary troops, it was as if a reservoir of rage had burst open, spilling red onto the streets with the floodwaters inundating hitherto sacrosanct shores.
The rage isn’t new. We have seen many violent protests and will no doubt continue to see them, but the targets this time were those who have historically been off-limits to even the angriest of mobs: the symbols and strongholds of the powerful military establishment.
Hearing delayed
Khan’s hearing has been temporarily delayed for prayers, the court announced.
The opposition leader had arrived in court 45 minutes after the scheduled time ordered by Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday.
Khan was brought under strict security by the Islamabad police as lawyers present in the compound chanted slogans in his favour.
