Protests spread across Pakistan as police tried to arrest opposition leader Imran Khan, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government struggling to restore order.
Law enforcement clashed with protesters loyal to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party outside his residence in central Lahore on Wednesday, following an unsuccessful attempt to detain the former prime minister on Tuesday night.
Supporters outside the complex threw rocks at police, who used tear gas, armored vehicles and water cannons to try to contain the protests. PTI said the compound was under “attack”.
Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year, has for months been locked in a bitter political standoff with Sharif’s government, which is in the midst of a deep economic crisis.
Many analysts believe that Khan will be the most popular candidate if he is allowed to stand in the national elections, which will be held in October, but he faces legal challenges. If convicted, he could be barred from holding public office.
The attempt to arrest Khan stems from allegations that he illegally sold gifts he received while serving as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. Pakistan’s election commission found that he violated the rules, and a court in Islamabad ordered Khan’s arrest after he failed to appear at a hearing. Khan blamed security concerns for his non-attendance.
Khan and his supporters say he has not broken any rules, describing the allegations as an attempt to dislodge him from the previous election. “They believe that by arresting Imran Khan, you will sleep,” Khan said on Twitter, telling his followers. “You have to prove them wrong.”
In Islamabad, protesters tried to block the main road connecting the Pakistani capital to the neighboring city of Rawalpindi. There were further protests in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, and Peshawar.
Shireen Mazari, a senior PTI leader, told the Financial Times the party would intensify its demonstrations if Khan was arrested. “If he is arrested, there will be more protests,” he said. “The situation will only improve.”
Political tensions have been exacerbated by Pakistan’s economic woes. The country is struggling with one of the deepest financial crises in its history, a product of domestic mismanagement, high inflation and soaring commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
An index measuring daily goods inflation earlier this month crossed 40 per cent, and the country’s foreign reserves fell to around $4bn, just enough for a month’s worth of imports.
The Sharif government has tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a bailout with the IMF. This month, Pakistan’s central bank raised its lending rate by 300 basis points to 20 percent, the highest in Asia, a critical IMF situation.
But the government has rejected other conditions demanded by the IMF, which include raising taxes and cutting energy subsidies, arguing that it is politically impossible to implement before the elections.