Pakistan police arrest several lawmakers in jailed Imran Khan's party
Crackdown come after a major rally called for Khan's release
Khan's PTI party protests against 'raids inside parliament'
Parliament speaker orders investigation into trespassing
Updates with details, background in paragraphs 2-6
By Asif Shahzad and Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam
ISLAMABAD, Sept 10 (Reuters) -Pakistani police arrested several lawmakers and leaders of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan's party in midnight raidsa day after it held a major rally in the capital to demand his release, the party and police said on Tuesday.
The former cricket star, 71, has been in jail for overa year since his ouster in 2022 after a falling-outwith powerful military generals, which has spawnedthe worst political turmoil in decades ineconomically unstable 241 million people nation.
A police spokesman confirmed the detention of four individuals but gave no details of charges. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said nearly a dozen of its parliamentarians had been picked up in Islamabad. Others had sought refuge in parliament to evade law enforcers, it said.
Its lawmakers protested in a session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, calling for action against what they alleged was the illegal entry of law enforcement personnel into the premises of parliament.
"Plainclothes people entered the parliament and arrested people's representatives - this is an assault on Pakistan's democracy," PTI legislator Ali Muhammad said.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announced that he would investigate the complaints, which, if verified, could result in legal action. He ordered all detained lawmakers to be returned to parliament.
Media footage showed police pushing the lawmakers into vehicles outside parliament, a scene that Omar Ayub Khan, the party's leader of the opposition, called "despicable".
"Yesterday's massive protest has sent shivers down the government's spine," Khan's aide, Zulfikar Bukhari, said in a post on X, calling the detentions illegal.
Party chairman Gohar Khan was among those held, added Bukhari, who is also a party spokesman.
Candidates backed by thePTI won the most seats in a general election in February but fell short of the majority required to form a government. Khan'srivals cobbled together a coalition instead to set up a bloc under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The crackdown camea day after the PTI rally heldon Islamabad's outskirts to demand Khan's release was marred by clashes between supporters and police that injured a senior police official.
The PTI said the violence began after police lobbed teargas canister at a peaceful gatheringin a bid to disperse it.
Some party leaders, such as Ali Amin Gandapur, chief minister of the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, criticised the ruling alliance and the military inspeeches at the rally.
"Put your house in order," he advised the military, warning against any attempt at a military trial for Khan. "I am not scared of the army uniform."
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Gandapur had threatened to free Khan from jail by force and incited his supporters to engage in violence.
Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Gibran Peshimam in Karachi; editing by Clarence Fernandez and Mark Heinrich
Dernières actualités
Avertissement : Les entités de XM Group proposent à notre plateforme de trading en ligne un service d'exécution uniquement, autorisant une personne à consulter et/ou à utiliser le contenu disponible sur ou via le site internet, qui n'a pas pour but de modifier ou d'élargir cette situation. De tels accès et utilisation sont toujours soumis aux : (i) Conditions générales ; (ii) Avertissements sur les risques et (iii) Avertissement complet. Un tel contenu n'est par conséquent fourni que pour information générale. En particulier, sachez que les contenus de notre plateforme de trading en ligne ne sont ni une sollicitation ni une offre de participation à toute transaction sur les marchés financiers. Le trading sur les marchés financiers implique un niveau significatif de risques pour votre capital.
Tout le matériel publié dans notre Centre de trading en ligne est destiné à des fins de formation / d'information uniquement et ne contient pas – et ne doit pas être considéré comme contenant – des conseils et recommandations en matière de finance, de fiscalité des investissements ou de trading, ou un enregistrement de nos prix de trading ou une offre, une sollicitation, une transaction à propos de tout instrument financier ou bien des promotions financières non sollicitées à votre égard.
Tout contenu tiers, de même que le contenu préparé par XM, tels que les opinions, actualités, études, analyses, prix, autres informations ou liens vers des sites tiers contenus sur ce site internet sont fournis "tels quels", comme commentaires généraux sur le marché et ne constituent pas des conseils en investissement. Dans la mesure où tout contenu est considéré comme de la recherche en investissement, vous devez noter et accepter que le contenu n'a pas été conçu ni préparé conformément aux exigences légales visant à promouvoir l'indépendance de la recherche en investissement et, en tant que tel, il serait considéré comme une communication marketing selon les lois et réglementations applicables. Veuillez vous assurer que vous avez lu et compris notre Avis sur la recherche en investissement non indépendante et notre avertissement sur les risques concernant les informations susdites, qui peuvent consultés ici.
