Firefighters try to douse a bus that caught fire during clashes with the supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Image: Reuters)
Neither the government, nor former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan budged or signalled at holding talks in order to restore calm.
The situation in Pakistan continues to remain grim as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers continue to seethe over the arrest of their leader Imran Khan. The law enforcement is also clamping down on PTI cadres, with Lahore Police arresting over 340 people for allegedly attacking the Corps Commander House (Jinnah House) in Lahore Cantt.
According to reports by the Dawn, there is also a feeling of a possible revolution waiting to happen. A report by CNN-News18 also pointed out that Pakistan Army was split over the arrest of the former prime minister and middle and lower ranked generals of the Pakistan Army remained unhappy with the leadership of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir during the three days of unrest.
It should be noted that the tenure of the protective bail granted by the Islamabad High Court on Friday ends on Monday.
Here are the latest developments from the ongoing political unrest in Pakistan:
- The government decided to double down on its actions during the period of unrest following Imran Khan’s arrest last week. Information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told Al Jazeera that there was no other possible way to react to the developments other than the course the government took i.e. suspend mobile internet services and clamp down on PTI workers.
- Lahore Police arrested 340 individuals for allegedly attacking and looting the Corps Commander House in Lahore Cantt. They also allegedly misbehaved with senior officers’ family members and set the house on fire. The prime suspect, who wore the Corps Commander’s uniform during the vandalism, has reportedly been arrested, the Dawn said in a report.
- Imran Khan continued to stir tensions as he said that he will not stop his fight for “Haqeeqi Azaadi till the last drop of my blood”. “My message to the people of Pakistan; I will fight for Haqeeqi Azaadi till the last drop of my blood because for me death is preferable than to be enslaved by these assortment of crooks,” the former prime minister said. The PTI chief also warned that the internet may be shut down on Monday.
- The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) will stage a protest against the Pakistan chief justice Umar Ata Bandial and the judiciary for allegedly favouring PTI chief Imran Khan outside the apex court premises. The government claims that it tried to dissuade its coalition partner from protesting but Imran Khan dismissed those comments as drama.
- Imran Khan earlier alleged that a plan was being hatched in London – an indirect attack on predecessor Nawab Sharif, claiming he is running the government not his younger brother Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – to jail him under false promises for a decade and also jail his wife, Bushra Bibi, to further humiliate him.
