Imran Khan arrest live updates: Revengeful acts in politics never rendered good results, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif says

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, has termed the events that unfolded on May 9 as a "black chapter" in the country's history, The Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry has been arrested outside the Supreme Court (SC) in Islamabad on Wednesday, Geo News reported. The development comes amid the ongoing crackdown on the PTI leaders and workers. Fawad Chaudhry was present inside the Pakistan Supreme Court since 11 am (local time) in a bid to evade arrest, as per the news report.

The dramatic arrest of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan on the premises of Islamabad High Court and then the court quickly termed the arrest 'legal' clearly shows that it was a preplanned move by the government and Army, IslamKhabar publication claimed. The Pakistani army and Imran Khan are already on the wrong term with each other. The former PM's allegation that the Deputy Director General of Counter Intelligence, ISI, Major General Faisal Naseer was behind his assassination has increased the gap between the two.

he wake of the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a corruption case. A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, Nabila Massrali, in the official statement said, "In the context of Tuesday's arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the European Union emphasises that in such difficult and tense times, restraint and cool-headedness are needed."

Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday condemned the deadly protests by the supporters of former premier Imran Khan after his arrest in a corruption case and warned to deal with demonstrators with an iron fist. The PMr made a brief address to the nation after the country was rocked by deadly violence during the last two days which saw attacks on military installations and state properties. “Attack on public property is an act of terrorism and enmity towards the country,” the prime minister said, adding that those taking the law into their own hands would be dealt with an iron fist. “They will be given an exemplary punishment,” he said.

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was arrested amid chaotic scenes on May 9, 2023, while appearing in court on corruption charges. Khan, who was ousted from power in April 2022, has denied any wrongdoing and has called on supporters to protest his detainment. Ayesha Jalal, a professor of Pakistan’s history at Tufts University, explains what the arrest means for the country’s politics, the response to Khan’s arrest and what this means for the upcoming election.

Pakistan's government called in the army on Wednesday to help quell deadly unrest in the wake of the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, warning protesters against any further attacks on state installations. At least five people have died in violence that has aggravated instability in the South Asian country of 220 million people as it grapples with a severe economic crisis and a delay to an International Monetary Fund bailout since November. Khan - Pakistan's most popular political leader according to polls - was arrested in a land fraud case on Tuesday, prompting supporters to storm military buildings and ransack the residence of a top army general in the eastern city of Lahore. (Reuters)

After weeks of cat-and-mouse game, former prime minister Imran Khan was finally arrested on Tuesday and whisked away by Pakistani Rangers during his court appearance. The dramatic arrest deepened the political turmoil in the country, leading to violent demonstrations resulting in at least three deaths and dozens of injuries. Hours before his arrest though, Imran had put out a video message blaming a certain 'Dirty Harry' for hatching a plot to kill him. He emphasised that if something happened to him, 'Dirty Harry' would be responsible and "not terrorist or foreign agencies".

Imran Khan's arrest on Tuesday set off skirmishes between his supporters and police in several cities that left at least six people dead, and his continued detention raised the prospect of more unrest. Already, angry protesters stormed a radio station in the northwest on Wednesday, and supporters clashed with police in the capital of Islamabad. The 70-year-old politician was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year but remains the country's most popular opposition figure. Police have arrested 945 Imran Khan supporters in eastern Punjab province alone since Tuesday. (AP)

Imran Khan's lawyers on Wednesday alleged a conspiracy to kill the former Pakistan premier in prison, according to a video posted from the official Twitter handle of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI). After a meeting with Imran Khan for an hour and a half, one of his lawyers said the former prime minister complained of experiencing chest pains. Imran claimed that his meals were being laced with insulin in a bid to induce a heart attack, PTI quoted his lawyers as claiming further. One of his lawyers briefed the media about the meeting with Imran Khan, saying that all four of his lawyers met him for an hour and a half after getting permission from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court. "We asked him if he was tortured. He said he had been experiencing pain in his heart since morning," one of his lawyers was quoted by the PTI as saying. (ANI)

With Pakistan facing political turmoil and civil disorder following arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in a corruption case, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah said that an unstable Pakistan is dangerous for India and hoped that something better will come and people will have a peaceful life. "An unstable Pakistan is dangerous for us. We need a stable Pakistan which is essential for peace in the sub-continent ... We would wish that country well. It's our neighbour and we hope something better will come and people will have a peaceful life," the former J&K CM said. He hoped that Imran Khan is safe and is released before the general elections in Pakistan. (ANI)

Former prime minister Imran Khan's dramatic arrest on Tuesday opened up a new chapter in the turmoil that is Pakistani politics. But the saga has been going on ever since the country was formed in 1947. In Pakistan, it is not uncommon for a ruling head of state to be overthrown by military, ousted by opponents/presidents and even assassinated by rivals. In fact, being a prime minister or president in Pakistan is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. That's why no prime minister in the country has ever completed a full tenure in its over 75-year history.

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan told an accountability court here on Wednesday that he feared for his life and was afraid that he will meet the same fate as Maqsood Chaprasi, a key witness in prime minister Shehbaz Sharif's money laundering case who died last year. Khan, 70, appeared before the accountability court at the Police Lines Headquarters in H-11/1 Islamabad on Wednesday, a day after he was dragged from the Islamabad high court and arrested, sparking widespread clashes between his supporters and police. "I have not been to the washroom in 24 hours," the former prime minister said during the hearing. (PTI)

Violent clashes between Imran Khan's supporters and security forces in the last 24 hours have left at least seven people dead and nearly 300 others injured across Pakistan as the army was deployed in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces on Wednesday to maintain law and order. At least 14 government buildings/installations were set on fire by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party supporters in Punjab province following the dramatic arrest of Khan in a corruption case on Tuesday, police said. The law enforcement agencies have arrested 1,150 PTI supporters including women in Punjab alone so far. Two top leaders - PTI secretary general Asad Umar, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema and PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi - were also arrested on Wednesday. (PTI)

A judge ruled Wednesday that Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan can be held for eight days. The ruling comes a day after Khan was arrested in Islamabad. His arrest set off clashes between his supporters and police. Angry protesters stormed and set fire to a building housing Radio Pakistan in the northwest on Wednesday as the death toll from the violence rose to four. Khan, who lost power last year but remains the country’s most popular opposition figure, is the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan. His dramatic arrest on Tuesday deepened the political turmoil. (AP)

Britain is monitoring the situation in Pakistan carefully, prime minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday, after the arrest of Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan sparked unrest. "The arrest of the former prime minister is an internal matter for Pakistan. We support peaceful democratic processes and adherence to the rule of law and we are monitoring the situation carefully," Sunak told lawmakers. (Reuters)

An anti-corruption court in Pakistan Wednesday reserved its verdict on the National Accountability Bureau's request for a 14-day physical remand of former prime minister Imran Khan as his legal woes multiplied after another court indicted him in a separate graft case. The 70-year-old chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was taken into custody by the paramilitary Rangers on Tuesday on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by barging into a room of the Islamabad high court. The New Police Guest House located in the high security premises of Police Lines Headquarters at Sector H-11/1 area of Islamabad was declared as a court for the purpose of hearing two cases against the former cricketer-turned-politician. The NAB sought a 14-day physical remand of Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case in which he is accused of looting Rs 50 billion of the national treasury. (PTI)

The arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan and the widespread violence in its wake showed that 'removing' him from the picture would solve nothing and it would only plunge the cash-strapped country further into 'chaos and unrest', Pakistan's leading newspapers commented on Wednesday. "Imran Khan has been arrested, and the Rubicon crossed. The breakout of fresh hostilities between the PTI and the state means any hopes of a negotiated breakthrough in the ongoing political stalemate can be put to rest," the Dawn newspaper wrote in an editorial. Though interior minister Rana Sanullah linked the arrest with a corruption investigation, the recent developments and Khan's fresh confrontation with the armed forces suggest that he may have been picked up for an entirely different reason, it said. (PTI)

Army troops have been deployed in Pakistan's Punjab province to maintain law and order following protests triggered by the arrest of the country's former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, Dawn reported. "Federal Government, in the exercise of the powers conferred under Article 245 of the Constitution and Section 4 (3) (ii) of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (to discharge such functions as specified in the said act), is pleased to authorize the deployment of Pakistan Army troops/assets for maintaining law and order situation across the Punjab province in aid of civil power," the ministry of interior of Pakistan said in an official order.

A Pakistani court on Wednesday indicted Imran Khan in the Toshakhana corruption case, in fresh trouble for the former prime minister who was arrested by paramilitary Rangers a day earlier from the Islamabad high court premises. Khan, 70, has been in the dock for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch, he received as the premier at a discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana and selling them for profit.

The supplementary report was submitted to the accountability court and presented during the hearing conducted by Accountability Court judge Qamar-ul-Zaman, Samaa TV reported on its website.

In a major relief for Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza, the National Accountability Bureau has declared the father-son duo were “innocent” in a money laundering case after it conducted a re-investigation, a media report said on Wednesday.

"An application in the Supreme Court was filed by barrister Ali Zafar and PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry challenging the verdict of the IHC against Imran Khan," the report said.

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Wednesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Islamabad High Court's ruling which backed the arrest of the former prime minister in a corruption case, according to a media report. Khan, 70, was arrested by the paramilitary Rangers in a corruption case from the IHC and bundled into a prison van sparking massive protests across the country by supporters of his PTI party.

The Pakistani rupee fell 1.3% to a record low of 288.5 against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, a day after former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested by the anti-corruption agency in Islamabad. Pakistan's international bonds nudged lower with the 2024 issue down 0.4 cents on the dollar, according to Tradeweb data.

"We were stopped from meeting our client," Babar Awan, a part of Khan's legal team, told Geo News.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan's legal team has been granted permission to meet the former prime minister ahead of his case hearing in Islamabad. Earlier today, Imran's legal team and his party leaders were denied access to meet him.

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab, the country's most populous province, since protests erupted after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, police said Wednesday."Police teams arrested 945 law breakers and miscreants from across the province," officials said in a statement to media, adding 130 officers and officials were injured in the violence that broke out after Khan's arrest on Tuesday.

Pakistan's anti-corruption watchdog on Wednesday sought a 14-day physical remand of former prime minister Imran Khan as he was produced before a special court inside a high security police facility here for the hearing in a corruption case in which he has been arrested.

Pakistan anti-terrorism force arrest secretary general of former PM Imran Khan's party.

'Imran Khan's supporters are burning schools, it's similar to what non state actors did in Pakistan in the past...'

Pakistan govt says 60 billion tax revenue looted by former PM Imran Khan, justifies arrest.

Pakistan braced for more turmoil a day after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was dragged from court in Islamabad and his supporters clashed with police across the country. The 71-year-old opposition leader is expected in court later Wednesday for a hearing on keeping Khan in custody for up to 14 days.

Khan's arrest warrant, issued on May 1, said that he was accused of corruption and corrupt practice.The anti-graft watchdog has also justified the PTI chief's arrest with the help of Rangers from inside the court premises on Tuesday and termed it legal and purely according to the NAB laws

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Wednesday announced that it will challenge in the Supreme Court the ruling of the Islamabad High Court which termed the arrest of its chief and former prime minister Imran Khan as legal, according to a media report.

PTI workers held protests in cities across Pakistan, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, and Mardan, reported Geo News. In Karachi, demonstrators clashed with the police near Nursery. They pelted stones at police vehicles and tore down street lights.

Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehrreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called for nationwide 'shutdown' on Wednesday against the arrest of the former prime minister, the Dawn reported.

Authorities in three of Pakistan's four provinces have imposed an emergency order banning all gatherings after Khan's supporters clashed with police. Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday by Pakistan's anti-corruption agency. Police said a court hearing would take place at the police guest house where he is being held.

Supporters of Imran Khan were planning to march to Islamabad on Wednesday where the former Pakistan prime minister is in custody in a corruption case, raising fears of more clashes with security forces.

When asked about the condition of the PTI chief, the source said Khan was detained in NAB's Rawalpindi/Islamabad regional headquarters “in a comfortable atmosphere”. He will not be “treated harshly”, rather he will only be questioned regarding his alleged involvement in the case and seeking monetary benefits.

Khan's party has claimed that at least four people were killed and over a dozen injured in different parts of the country in violent clashes between the security forces and PTI supporters.

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who was arrested dramatically on Tuesday in a corruption case, is likely to remain in the custody of the country's anti-graft agency for "four to five days" and is expected to be presented before an accountability court, a media report said on Wednesday.