Pakistan arrests hundreds of members of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party


Pakistani police arrested hundreds of supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on the night of Monday May 23 to Tuesday May 24, before a giant demonstration planned by his party in Islamabad, AFP learned from police sources.

Imran Khan was overthrown on April 10 by a motion of no confidence. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI, Pakistan Movement for Justice), has since been trying to mobilize the streets to increase pressure on the fragile coalition government and obtain the calling of early legislative elections. “Over 200 PTI supporters arrested in Punjab“, declared on condition of anonymity to AFP a police official of Lahore, capital of this province. “We searched houses and arrested several of them.»

Accused of wanting to spread ‘chaos and anarchy’

Another police official confirmed the information, also on condition of anonymity, stating that these people had been arrested for disturbing public order and remained in detention. Fawad Chaudhry, the former information minister in the PTI government, accused the police of carrying out the searches without a warrant, and arresting more than 400 people. The police have not officially commented on this information.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has accused Imran Khan of wanting to spread “chaos and anarchy” in the country. Imran Khan planned to lead a long march on Wednesday, expected to attract tens of thousands of people, between the city of Peshawar (northwest), capital of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, led by the PTI, and the capital Islamabad. He thus intends to force the government to call elections without waiting, which must take place before the deadline of October 2023.

Imran Khan, a former star cricketer, was elected in 2018 by denouncing elite corruption symbolized by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of the Bhutto family, two long rival parties that have dominated national politics for decades. But the country’s dilapidated economy, with zero growth for the past three years, high inflation, a weak rupee and mounting debt, cost him his job, bringing the PML-N back to power and the PPP, partners in a coalition government.


SEE ALSO – ‘It’s a victory for democracy’: Pakistanis celebrate the overthrow of Imran Khan with a motion of no confidence



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