Imran Khan's arrest shifts limelight from elections in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has shifted the limelight from the issue of elections in the country quite effectively as the ongoing political turmoil is the talk of the town, Asian Lite reported. Pakistan is in utter chaos as a country, which was already under extreme economic crisis, is also facing political turmoil. It is now facing public outrage against the government and Army.

The army has gathered its own forces under the command of Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Asim Munir, whose appointment Imran had fought to stop both while he was in office and after losing his position as prime minister, writes Sakariya Kareem in Asian Lite. In one of the more than one hundred graft cases, Imran Khan was dramatically detained on the grounds of the Islamabad High Court by the Rangers and paramilitary forces rather than the police.

The high court, presided over by Chief Justice Amer Faruq, reacted with outrage, and called the interior secretary, other top officials, and government attorneys, but ended everything within hours and deemed the arrest lawful, Kareem added. The army has chosen to restrain Khan for the time being and support the Shehbaz Sharif administration. Since economic stress and political instability were mutually reinforcing, this is also necessary to stop them, the author said, writing in Asian Lite.

Time and again, Khan has pressurised PM Shehbaz Sharif's government regarding the demand for transparent and early elections and has also held many rallies. On Tuesday, Imran was arrested outside Islamabad High Court by Pakistan Rangers on a warrant issued by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case. He was dragged out of Islamabad High Court.

People took to the streets, resorted to violence, arson and even raised many slogans to register their resentment against the arrest of ex-PM of Pakistan and PTI chief Imran Khan, across Pakistan including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Karachi, Quetta, Mardan, Bannu, and Chilas. The protesting mob resorted to stone pelting on houses, offices and vehicles, burning banners and tyres and blocking roads.