Pakistan under fire after Imran Khan arrested, death toll rises to 8 in protest

The whole of Pakistan is on fire in protest against the arrest of former prime minister and the main opposition party Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Imran Khan. Today, the court granted Imran Khan an eight-day remand, and the protests turned violent.

According to Reuters, the protests and clashes between the police and the protesters are ongoing. The death toll in clashes between protesters and police has risen to eight.

According to BBC report, the country‍‍`s law enforcement forces continued to arrest PTI activists across the country today to suppress the protests. 1000 leaders and activists of PTI including Asad Omar have been arrested so far. Party Vice Chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi is also on the arrested list.

According to Reuters, the army has been deployed in Punjab province to quell the protests. Army deployment is also being considered in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Meanwhile, the army issued a stern warning to the protesters. The Army‍‍`s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued the warning in a statement today. The statement termed the violence as a ‍‍`dark chapter‍‍`.

Pakistan‍‍`s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a 14-day remand after bringing Imran Khan to the court today, but the accountability court granted an eight-day remand.

Earlier, Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday. On that day, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the country‍‍`s anti-corruption agency, arrested the chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaf Party from the court premises when he went to appear in a case in the capital Islamabad.