The former prime minister of Pakistan has been arrested

The Army of Dirty Harry: A Story About Khan’s Detention and the “Missing of God is Ours”

Khan was taken into custody by Pakistan’s military spokesman, who warned the former prime minister not to malign a serving officer. Khan said last month there was a military intelligence official behind a plot to kill him.

The footage shared by the media team shows the men breaking a window to get the former prime minister out of the room.

Following Khan’s detention, roads clogged with panicking commuters who rushed to pick up children from school and leave work, fearing protesters would block roads. The authorities in Punjab,Pakistan’s most populous province, issued an order banning demonstrations. The capital Lahore is considered the seat of Khan’s power. Khan’s supporters have ignored the orders before.

Some of the supporters of the former prime minister climbed over a gate to reach the military headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi according to videos shared by Khan’s media team. Shouting “Allah Akbar,” or God is great, they are seen in the videos using sticks to smash through the first gate that separates the compound from the road beyond.

When Khan was in power, his government arrested Shahbaz Sharif, then the opposition leader, through the bureau. When he was facing multiple corruption cases, Sharif was able to oust Khan. The charges were dropped because there wasn’t enough evidence to support them.

The former prime minister was warned not to malign a serving officer by the military spokesman after releasing a statement against him.

Khan referred to a military intelligence official as “Dirty Harry” from an old Clint Eastwood movie before he went to the courthouse.

“ISPR sahib,” Khan said in a video statement on Twitter, referring to the military spokesman, “when an institution takes action against black sheep, it improves its own credibility. An institution which catches corrupt people strengthens itself,” he said, according to translated remarks reported in the Dawn newspaper. “It is my army, my Pakistan not just yours. It is our army.”

Pakistan’s political crisis has worsened an economic crisis that has caused food prices to soar and pushed millions close to starvation. There are concerns that the country could default on its debt, owing to its thin foreign currency reserves.

Pakistan’s military has repeatedly signaled that it does not like, or trust Khan, after working closely with his coalition government. Many people in Pakistan say that it was the army that helped propel Khan’s political fortunes and paved the way for him to win elections.

Police said over 2,000 demonstrators remained around the damaged residence of a top regional commander. They chanted “Khan is our red line and you have crossed it,” at the military. Ghani and his family members were moved to a safer place when the mob on Tuesday first attacked their sprawling house.

He appeared in the courthouse on Tuesday to attend a meeting on one of his dozens of cases. The protests began after Khan’s media team shared footage of men in khakis breaking a window to free a man in a room that was meant to serve as a check point.

Predictability of the Moment: The Pulsar’s Attacks on the Pakistani Prime Minister and the Military’s Headquarters in Lahore

We are close to the knife’s edge. The next few hours and next few days are going to be crucial in determining the short-term prospects for stability here,” says Mosharraf Zaidi, a columnist who heads a think tank, Tabadlab.

“There’s going to be rising temperatures, potential conflict, hopefully limited pockets of violence, hopefully nothing too serious, but at this point, whether, for better or worse, a lot will depend the PTI’s leadership,” says Zaidi, referring to the acronym of Khan’s

“Ironically, for the instability and unpredictability of the moment,” he says, “there’s a counterfactual to that, which is the predictability of Pakistan: if you are a popular Pakistani politician, you end up in jail.”

Many stayed at home as violence raged. The US Embassy in Islamabad canceled all its consular appointments on Wednesday after Khan’s arrest, telling Americans to avoid large crowds and to review their personal security plans.

The organization was alarmed by reports that Pakistani authorities blocked access to mobile internet networks and social media. Amnesty urged authorities to show restraint, saying clashes between law enforcement and Khan’s supporters risk human rights violations.

The military has not commented on the attacks. None of the leaders from Khan’s party denounced the attacks on the military, though they have appealed to their supporters to be peaceful.

Other demonstrators tried to reach the prime minister’s residence in Lahore, but were driven off by baton-wielding in police. Still more attacked vehicles carrying troops and hit armed soldiers with sticks. There have not been any incidents of police and soldiers shooting at protesters.

Mobs angered by the dramatic arrest set fire to the residence of a top army general in the eastern city of Lahore, and supporters attacked the military’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near the capital, Islamabad. They did not reach the main building housing the offices of army chief Gen. Asim Munir.

Investigation of a property tycoon accused of accepting millions of dollars of property in exchange for providing benefits to a political monopole

The National Accountability Bureau has investigated former officials, including former prime ministers. But some view the bureau as a tool used by those in power, especially the military, to crack down on political opponents.

Khan is accused of accepting millions of dollars worth of property in exchange for providing benefits to a property tycoon. The tribunal granted eight days for the National Accountability Bureau to hold him.

Police have arrested 945 Khan supporters in eastern Punjab province alone since Tuesday — including Asad Umar and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, two senior leaders from Khan’s party.

The local government asked the army to intervene after authorities said 157 police officers were injured in clashes with Khan supporters.

The Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar was damaged and set on fire by supporters. He said that police were trying to restore order and some of the employees were trapped inside.

Police deployed in force across the country, and placed shipping containers on a road leading to the sprawling police compound in Islamabad where Khan is being held.

Khan has denounced the cases against him, which include corruption and terrorism charges, as a politically motivated plot by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to keep him from returning to power in the next elections which are to be held later this year. Khan has been campaigning for the early elections.

A court in Pakistan ruled that the ex-prime minister could be held for eight days, one day after he was taken from a courtroom to face corruption charges.