At least eight people were killed and up to 290 others were injured during protests in Pakistan that erupted after the arrest of Imran Khan, the former prime minister and the leader of the opposition Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), local media reported on Thursday.
Following the arrest of Khan, PTI called on the citizens of Pakistan to gather for mass protests to demand the politician's release. Mass protests erupted across the country, with activists setting police vehicles on fire and damaging government property, and the police using gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
House of Shehbaz Sharif Attacked in Lahore
Supporters of the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party attacked the residence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Over 500 PTI supporters reached the house of the prime minister in Lahore on Wednesday and set the cars parked nearby on fire, the agency said citing a Punjab police officer.
"They also threw petrol bombs inside the premier's house," the officer was quoted in the report as saying.
On Tuesday, former Prime Minister and current PTI chairman Imran Khan was taken into custody following a hearing of the Islamabad High Court in connection with corruption involving the Al-Qadir Trust, which is headed by him and his wife. Khan is facing an inquiry in a case related to a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon, which reportedly caused a loss of 50 billion Pakistani rupees ($17.6 million) to the national exchequer.
Moreover, following the spread of the protest, the police arrested PTI's Central Spokesman Fawad Chaudhry and Secretary General Asad Umar.