The release of the former Pakistani prime minister has sparked violent protests. Spurred on by the current government, protesters have tried to storm the Supreme Court – and further chaos seems inevitable.
In Pakistan, thousands of government supporters stormed the ousted government district in Islamabad on Monday. This was announced by a police spokesman in the capital of the German press agency. About 7,000 protesters followed the call of the government parties to take to the streets against the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The government district, which also houses the Supreme Court building, had previously been cordoned off.
The demonstrators had overcome the barricades, but the situation is now “calm” and “under control”, the police spokesman said. 2,500 security forces are deployed.
Pakistan’s governing coalition called on its supporters to stage mass protests late last week following the release of popular opposition leader Khan by order of the Supreme Court on Friday.
The conflict has been dormant for months
The call for protests can be seen as an attempted show of force by the government coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against Khan’s supporters. A conflict between the two camps has been smoldering for months. Given the economic crisis, the South Asian country is divided.
Former Prime Minister Khan was arrested with great attention last Tuesday. Violent clashes between his supporters and security forces followed in several cities. Another arrest of Khan after his release cannot be ruled out. Then chaos can break out again. Some politicians, backed by the military, are calling for tougher legal action against Khan.
In April 2022, Khan was ousted as Prime Minister by a vote of no confidence after nearly four years in office. Since then, the judiciary has brought new charges against him. He has to answer to the judge in about 100 cases. The allegations concern corruption, money laundering and insulting a judge. Observers see the actions against Khan as politically motivated. Khan hopes for a political comeback.
Source: Krone
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