After the arrest of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday in a corruption case, his PTI supporters stormed the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and Corps Commander’s residence in Lahore.
Khan’s supporters torched Gujranwala cantonment entrance. In Lahore, PTI workers gathered at Liberty Chowk and marched towards cantonment areas to protest outside Jinnah House, according to Pakistan daily Dawn.
The demonstrators burnt tyres and chanted slogans of anti-coalition government. Wives and family members of Army officers have posted pictures of violence on social media.
The mob also damaged the PML-N’s Model Town office, and set PM Shehbaz Sharif’s private residence on fire.
Video footage shows that some PTI workers suffered bullet injuries in Lahore and Faisalabad during their clashes with the security agencies.
“At least four PTI workers were killed so far in different parts of the country on the firing of the law enforcement agencies. One each has been killed in Lahore, Faisalabad, Quetta, and Swat,” senior PTI leader Shireen Mazari said.
She said over a dozen have also been injured. However, the deaths could not be verified independently.
The Punjab government also requested the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to suspend Internet and mobile services in the areas of the province where violent protests took place.
Similarly, the Balochistan government also imposed Section 144 in Quetta and at other places to control political events and protests.
According to sources, a meeting of corps commanders will take place this evening to review the protests and work out a strategy to pacify the situation. The Army HQ in Pakistan has advised all officers to remain extremely vigilant. They asked them to avoid unnecessary movement for now.
Khan, 70, who travelled from Lahore to Islamabad, was undergoing a biometric process at the Islamabad High Court when the paramilitary Rangers broke open the glass window and arrested him after beating lawyers and Khan’s security staff.
His arrest comes a day after the country’s army accused him of levelling baseless allegations against a senior officer of the spy agency ISI.
(With PTI inputs)
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