Pro-government demonstrators protested this Monday, May 15 in Islamabad in front of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, accusing him of having contributed to the release last week of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who returned to court.
Arrest of the former Prime Minister, demonstrations, restricted access to social networks… What is happening in Pakistan?
Imran Khan, 70, was arrested on May 9 in Islamabad in a corruption case, before being released on bail three days later after the Supreme Court ruled his arrest illegal.
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This Monday, hundreds of demonstrators answering the call of the ruling coalition gathered in front of the Supreme Court, in the « zone rouge » of Islamabad where the main institutions of the country are located, under heavy police presence.
“This partisan justice has shaken public confidence”
“The Chief Justice and a few of his pals are shaming the justice system like no one before them. This partisan justice has shaken the public’s trust.”said one of the demonstrators, Malik Hassam Mehmood, a trader supporter of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), the formation of the current Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.
At the same time, Imran Khan appeared before a court in Lahore, in the east of the country, where he faces new accusations that he planned the violence that followed his arrest. The examination of this file should continue on Tuesday.
The former star cricketer was accompanied by his wife, Bushra Bibi, who appeared in the same corruption case and was granted bail.
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At least nine dead in violent clashes
The arrest of Imran Khan had angered supporters of his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
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Violent clashes in several cities opposed the police to the demonstrators, who damaged public buildings and – a rare occurrence – attacked symbols of military power.
At least nine people have been killed, hundreds of police officers injured and more than 7,000 arrested, mostly in the eastern provinces of Punjab and northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, authorities say. .
Khan pressures to organize early elections
Implicated in dozens of cases, Imran Khan believes that he is the subject of judicial harassment instigated by the government and the army to prevent his return to power.
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He was deposed by a motion of no confidence in April 2022 after losing the support of the military, who had secretly supported him when he became prime minister four years earlier.
Still enjoying strong popularity, he has been pushing for months for the organization of elections before the October deadline, and has not hesitated to violently criticize the army, all powerful in Pakistan.
