Pakistan police arrest 10 PTI workers for protesting Imran Khan’s arrest

Imran Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park home in Lahore shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana corruption case

Lahore: Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Saturday arrested 10 PTI workers for protesting a trial court’s conviction and sentencing of former prime minister Imran Khan in a corruption case.

Khan, 70, was arrested from his Zaman Park home in Lahore on Saturday shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana corruption case and sentenced him to three-year imprisonment.

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The case alleges that Khan “deliberately concealed” details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana, a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept, during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales.

Punjab police said in a statement that they arrested 10 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers outside the PTI chief’s home where they had gathered to protest against their leader’s arrest.

“No protest has been reported in any other part of Lahore and elsewhere in Punjab, so far,” police said.

Only a handful of PTI supporters on Saturday took to the streets in Lahore to protest Khan’s arrest, they said.

The ruling PML-N workers gathered at Jauhar Town and celebrated the arrest of Khan on Saturday.

PML-N Lahore president Saif Khokhar and other officer bearers of the party distributed sweets among the workers.

Security has been beefed up and heavy police contingents have been deployed on all main roads and buildings in Lahore.

Security personnel have also been deployed on roads leading to cantonments in the province especially to secure military installations in Punjab province.

Earlier in May, widespread protests erupted across Pakistan after Khan was arrested outside a court in Islamabad by paramilitary Rangers in a corruption case.

His party workers vandalised over 20 military installations and government buildings, including the Lahore Corps Commander House, Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad.

The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time.

Following the protests, police arrested over 10,000 PTI supporters inducing women under terrorism charges. Some of them are being tried under the Army Act.

Khan is facing more than 140 cases across the country and faces charges like terrorism, violence, blasphemy, corruption and murder.