Imran Khan to be held for eight days as several die and hundreds detained during violent protests in Pakistan
At least five people have died and hundreds have been detained during violent protests in Pakistan over the arrest of Imran Khan – the country’s former prime minister – who has been remanded in custody for eight days.
A court hearing to determine whether Mr Khan could be detained for up to 14 days took place today at the police compound where he is being held, authorities said.
A judge decided he can be held in custody for questioning on corruption charges for just over a week.
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‘A very tense moment for Pakistan’
Pakistan’s GEO television broadcast footage showing Mr Khan appearing before the judge inside the temporary courtroom. The former premier was seen seated in a chair, holding documents, and appeared tired.
The 70-year-old was arrested by security forces at the High Court in the capital on Tuesday and dragged into an armoured vehicle and driven away.
Violent clashes have since erupted between his supporters and police in several cities, resulting in fatalities – one in the southern city of Quetta, and four others in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan.
Dozens of officers were involved in the arrest of Imran Khan in Islamabad. Pic: PTIofficial
Objects were set on fire by supporters of Imran Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan. Pic: AP
Authorities in three of Pakistan’s four provinces have imposed an emergency order banning all gatherings following the violence.
Two provinces have asked the federal government to deploy troops to restore order.
Police said 945 of Mr Khan’s supporters have been arrested in Punjab province, more than 130 officers have been injured, 25 police vehicles set on fire, and around 14 government buildings severely damaged and looted.
Clashes between Mr Khan’s supporters and police in Karachi, Pakistan. Pics: AP
In response to Mr Khan’s arrest, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party called for peaceful demonstrations across the country.
“We continue to call PTI family workers, supporters and the people of Pakistan onto the streets for peaceful protest against this unconstitutional behaviour,” said PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
He added the party’s leadership is in Islamabad and would be seeking to challenge Mr Khan’s detention at the country’s supreme court.
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Khan lawyer says arrest was ‘state abduction’
Mr Khan’s supporters in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have been asked to gather in the city of Swabi to leave for Islamabad as part of a planned protest march.
Videos seen by Sky News in Pakistan show army bases being broken into by civilians and army vehicles being set alight in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
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A billboard is set alight in Lahore, Pakistan. Pic: AP
An injured police officer in Karachi, Pakistan
The home of Lieutenant General Salman Fayyaz Ghania – a top army chief – in the eastern city of Lahore was set on fire.
On Wednesday morning, police said at least 2,000 protesters were still surrounding the house, chanting slogans including, “Khan is our red line and you have crossed it”.
In the port city of Karachi, police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Mr Khan’s supporters.
“This can’t be tolerated, the law will take its course,” planning minister Ahsan Iqbal told a news conference. “These violent attacks were not the outcome of any public outpouring, they were planned by the PTI rank and file.”
Internet services have been suspended across the country and access to Twitter, YouTube and Facebook has been disrupted, according to officials at Pakistan’s telecommunication authority.
Pakistan’s paramilitary troops outside court. Pic: AP
Supporters of Mr Khan chant slogans next to burning tires during a protest in Hyderabad, Pakistan. Pic: AP
Mr Khan’s arrest came a day after the country’s powerful military criticised him for repeatedly accusing a senior military officer of trying to engineer his assassination and the former armed forces chief of being behind his removal from power last April.
He had recorded a video message before heading to Islamabad, claiming officials were out for his arrest to prevent him from campaigning.
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Imran Khan issued a video statement ahead of his detention
The cricketing-hero-turned-politician – who has been pushing for new elections – has denounced the cases against him, which include terrorism charges, as a politically motivated plot by his successor as prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif.
He faces being barred from holding public office if convicted, with a general election scheduled to take place in November.
“Imran Khan will have to face the law and if he is cleared he will be contesting elections and if he is found guilty he will have to face the consequences,” Mr Iqbal, Pakistan’s planning minister, added.
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Imran Khan arrest ‘is an internal matter’
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has warned of further disruption in the country, while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain is monitoring the situation in Pakistan carefully.
“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,” said Mr Sunak.
This is the highest stakes diplomacy via social media.
The American president just posted on his Truth Social platform: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers.
“Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Israel-Iran live: Trump says US knows where Iran’s supreme leader is ‘hiding’
It was followed minutes later by “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
In real-time, we are witnessing Donald Trump’s extreme version of maximum pressure diplomacy.
He’d probably call it the ‘art of the deal’, but bunker busters are the tool, and it comes with such huge consequences, intended and unintended, known and unknown.
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The bunker buster bomb which could destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions
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Nuclear sites targeted in Iran
There is intentional ambiguity in the president’s messaging. His assumption is that he can apply his ‘art of the deal’ strategy to a deeply ideological geopolitical challenge.
It’s all playing out publicly. Overnight, the New York Times, via two of its best-sourced reporters, had been told that Mr Trump is weighing whether to use B-2 aircraft to drop bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Axios was reporting that a meeting is possible between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
The reporting came just as Mr Trump warned “everyone in Tehran to evacuate”. The nuclear sites being threatened with bunker busters are not in Tehran, but Trump’s words are designed to stoke tension, to confuse and to apply intense pressure.
His actions are too. He left the G7 in Canada early and asked his teams to gather in the White House Situation Room.
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Trump: ‘I want an end, not a ceasefire’
This is a game of smoke, mirrors, brinkmanship and – maybe – bluff. In Tehran, what’s left of the leadership is watching and reading closely as they consider what’s next.
Maybe the Supreme Leader and his regime’s days are numbered. Things remain very unpredictable.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
From history, though, regime change, even when it comes with a plan – and there is certainly not one here, spells civil war and from that comes a refugee crisis.
These are truly tense and chaotic times.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
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