Imran Arrest: 8 killed, 290 injured in violent protests in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: At least eight people were killed, and up to 290 were injured in ongoing clashes with law enforcement officers across Pakistan following the arrest of the country's former prime minister Imran Khan, Dawn reported on Thursday.

The conflicts culminated in the arrest of nearly 1,900 demonstrators and the destruction of various government buildings, including police stations.

This comes after an accountability court in Islamabad gave NAB custody of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan for eight days in connection with the Al Qadir Trust case on Wednesday.

Fawad Chaudhry, the senior vice president of the PTI, was detained hours after Asad Umar, the central secretary general, was taken into custody.

In Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad, the administration dispatched the military in an effort to manage the deteriorating situation. A day after demonstrators broke into the corps commander's Lahore home and tore down a gate at GHQ in Rawalpindi, the deployment took place.

Earlier today, Former Pakistan Foreign Minister, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi was arrested by the Islamabad police and transferred to an unknown location.

"Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice Chairman Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has been arrested by the Islamabad Police and transferred to an unknown location," the party tweeted on Thursday.

The PTI leader was taken into custody from the Gilgit-Baltistan House in Islamabad after a failed attempt by the police on Wednesday afternoon, according to Pakistan based The Express Tribune.

On Tuesday, PTI chairman Khan was arrested in a graft case, and presented before the accountability court at the Police Lines Headquarters. The accountability bureau will investigate the former premier at the Police Lines.

Qureshi is wanted by the police in cases of riots and arsons in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Before his arrest, Qureshi called upon PTI workers to keep up their struggle for true freedom in the country.