Mayhem engulfs Pakistan after ex-PM Imran Khan's arrest: What do we know so far?

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested by a large number of paramilitary Rangers on Wednesday (May 9) at the Islamabad High Court. Khan travelled from Lahore to the Islamabad Court in connection with hearing a corruption case. Visuals of Khan's arrest have shown the former premier of the country being dragged by the paramilitary rangers, who were present in large numbers outside the court.

Imran Khan's arrest has triggered mayhem across Pakistan, escalating the country’s political crisis, with lakhs of supporters now coming out on the streets against their leader's "unjustified" arrest.

What do we know so far?

Imran Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High Court

On Tuesday (May 9), Imran Khan travelled from Lahore to the federal capital, Islamabad, to appear before the court in a corruption case. According to Islabamabad police, the former star cricketer was taken into custody in the Al-Qadir Trust case, one of 100 cases registered against him. Khan was arrested by rangers after they stormed the court's premises.

Khan accused a senior army official of plotting his assassination

Khan, who is the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a popular leader in the country, got arrested a day after he launched his sharpest attacks on a senior intelligence officer, accusing him of plotting his assassination. The video circulating all over the internet has shown how Khan was surrounded by a large number of paramilitary forces and armoured personnel who were holding his neck and pushing him into the prison van.

Complete mayhem in Pakistan; Six people killed, PTI calls for nationwide strike

After the news of Khan's arrest spread, massive protests broke out in several parts of the country. Hunderds and thousands of his supporters at several places turned violent, burned down police vehicles, and attacked public property. It is important to note that, for the first time, Khan's supporters smashed the main gate of the army's sprawling headquarters in Rawalpindi. So far, six deaths have been reported, as well as numerous injuries. Also, leaders of his party called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party to challenge Imran Khan's arrest in SC

After their leader's arrest, the PTI party said on Wednesday that they would challenge the Supreme Court ruling in the Islamabad High Court. "PTI will challenge the IHC's decision to term party chief Imran Khan’s arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 'legal' before the Supreme Court today, May 9," PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters.

Hearing on Al-Qadir Trust case

After his arrest, proceedings in Imran Khan's Al-Qadir Trust case commenced at an undisclosed location. The former PM was kept under strict custody and was produced in the court of Judge Muhammad Bashir.

Pakistan's government justifies Imran Khan's arrest

On Wednesday, the Pakistani government addressed the nation via the media. In its address, the government justified Khan's arrest and termed the ongoing nationwide protests by Imran Khan's supporters an "organised attack" Imran Khan is creating "chaos in the country," and the ongoing violence in the country is "anti-state". The government said that it is "not acceptable at all" and "all those involved in this crime will be investigated".

"These were targeted demonstrations planned by Imran Khan. The violence by no means shows that it is a public outrage. This was an organised attack on government buildings and infrastructure," the government said.

About AI-Qadir Trust case which led to Khan's arrest

During his tenure as Pakistan PM, Khan had promised to develop a project that was supposed to offer quality education in Jhelum, Punjab. The project had a number of members who were Khan's closest, including his wife, Bushra Bibi, Zulfiqar Bukhari, and Babar Awan. Al-Qadir University Project Trust was created to carry out the project work, and Bibi, Bukhari, and Awan were named as office bearers.

As a part of the project, a deal was signed between Khan's government and a property tycoon, which saw a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer. According to media reports, the accused allegedly adjusted Rs 50 billion—190 million pounds at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the government. Also, many leaders of the PTI party were accused of misusing the resources in the form of more than 458 crores of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, to establish Al Qadir University.