Violent protests erupt after ex-PM Imran Khan’s arrest

Image by BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha

Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan have taken to the streets in protest across the world, voicing their disappointment over his arrest on Tuesday, 9 May.

Khan was arrested by security forces at the High Court in the capital, Islamabad on corruption charges. Numerous officers were seen in a footage circulating online as they arrived and captured the 70-year-old, who was then forcefully put into a vehicle and driven away. The BBC has reported “violent clashes” across Pakistan between the security forces and Khan’s supporters.

Khan has asserted that the attacks on him are politically motivated. A few months ago, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt whilst in a public rally.

As protests gained momentum and many of them occurred in front of army compounds, the interior ministry issued orders to suspend mobile data services in the country. It is common knowledge that the Pakistani army plays a major role in the country’s political affairs, which includes deciding who will lead the nation.

Khan’s third wife, Bushra Watto known commonly as Bushra Bibi, set up the Al-Qadir Trust, a non-governmental organisation which runs a university outside Islamabad devoted to spirituality and Islamic teachings. While in power as the prime minister, Khan promoted the organisation during events.

On Tuesday, Home minister Rana Sanaullah alleged that Khan used the trust as a cover to accept valuable land as a bribe from a prominent real estate developer, Malik Riaz Hussain, who is considered one of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen.

Hussain was summoned by authorities late last years to give a statement on the land donated to the NGO, reports have stated.

According to the minister, the trust possesses approximately 60 acres of land with an estimated value of 7 billion Pakistani rupees, as well as a substantial plot of land situated in Islamabad in close proximity to Khan’s hillside residence.

It has also been said that despite being the university’s official site, not much has been built there.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb pointed out that donations given for operations of the under-construction institution had to be questioned.

“The trust received 180 million rupee ($635,144.67) for operational expenses, but records showed only 8.52 million rupees,” she said in a statement on Tuesday night.

The government claimed that the bribe originated from £190 million that were sent back to Pakistan in 2019 by Britain, following Hussain’s forfeiture of cash and assets to resolve a British investigation into whether they were acquired through criminal means.

It is alleged that rather than depositing the funds into Pakistan’s treasury, Khan’s administration utilised the money to settle fines imposed by a court on Hussain for purchasing government owned land in Karachi at lower than market rates for development purposes.

The interior minister has claimed that Hussain provided the land in Jhelum and Islamabad to Al-Qadir Trust as compensation for the favour.