Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan remanded in custody for 8 days amid uproar
- Khan’s arrest has led to violent protests across the country, with at least two provinces asking the federal government to deploy troops to restore order
- Election Commission of Pakistan last October found Khan guilty of illegally selling state gifts and barred him from public office until the next election
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was remanded in custody on Wednesday for eight days, his lawyers said, a day after he was arrested on corruption charges.
“The court has approved eight days of physical remand of Imran Khan,” Ali Bukhari, a lawyer for Khan, said by phone after the closed-door hearing.
The decision follows that of the Election Commission of Pakistan last October which found Khan guilty of illegally selling state gifts and barred him from holding public office until the next election. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Khan was arrested on Tuesday in another corruption case related to property. The action by Pakistan’s anti-corruption body has led to violent protests across the country, with at least two provinces asking the federal government to deploy troops to restore order.
Khan, who lost power last year but remains the country’s most popular opposition figure, is the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan. His arrest deepened political turmoil and sparked violent demonstrations on Tuesday.
At least two people were killed in the overnight violence, one in the southwestern city of Quetta and the other in northwestern Pakistan, and dozens were wounded in various parts of the country.