Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Tense mood grips Pakistan ahead of Imran Khan hearing

Tense mood grips Pakistan ahead of Imran Khan hearing

Pakistan remains on edge ahead of former prime minister Imran Khan's hearing on corruption charges, a day after his dramatic arrest.
Local media have reported at least two deaths amid demonstrations in Pakistan.

A police guest house has been declared a "courtroom" for the hearing on Wednesday, local authorities said.

Police have carried out raids and arrested supporters of Mr Khan's party in the hours since his arrest.

The former international cricket star is facing dozens of charges relating to corruption and sedition, which he says are politically motivated.

Pictures early on Wednesday local time showed lines of officers forming in front of the police guest house in the capital Islamabad.

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said he has not had access to legal counsel, and that the party will challenge the legality of his arrest in court.

Other photos show scores of vehicles badly burned in Pakistan's largest city Karachi, after overnight protests.

Mobile internet services remain inaccessible across the country. Pakistan's telecommunication authorities said they had suspended services on instructions from the interior ministry.

Schools also remain closed, some highways have been blocked and there is little traffic plying roads in major cities.

Protests are expected to continue on Wednesday, with some demonstrators planning to march to Islamabad and the PTI calling for a nationwide strike.

"This was last night, the crowds will be bigger today to protect Imran Khan!" PTI posted on its official Twitter account, accompanied by a clip of a mass protest on Tuesday evening.

Khan's supporters have also taken to the streets in the UK, US and Canada, among other countries, following his detention.

Speaking to the BBC's Newshour, Mr Khan's spokesman, Raoof Hasan, said he expected "the worst" and that the arrest could plunge the country "into chaos and anarchy".

"We're facing multiple crises. There is an economic crisis, there is a political crisis, there is a cost of livelihood crisis and consequently this occasion will be a catharsis for them to step out and I fear a fair amount of violence is going to be back."

Khan was arrested on Tuesday while in court in Islamabad to face charges in various graft cases.

Dramatic footage showed dozens of security officers forcibly removing the 70-year-old Khan from court, then bundling him into a police vehicle.

Tuesday's arrest was based on a new warrant for a separate graft case, connected to a case involving the transfer of land for Al-Qadir University, near Islamabad. It is the latest in an escalating political battle between Mr Khan and Pakistan's powerful army.

Many analysts believe Mr Khan's election win in 2018 happened with the help of the military. But now in opposition, he has become one of the military's most vocal critics.

Khan was ousted as prime minister in April last year and has been campaigning for early elections since then. The polls are due to be held later this year.

Hours before the arrest, party officials released a pre-recorded video by Mr Khan, in which he urged supporters to come out in support of "true freedom".

"My Pakistanis, by the time these words reach you I would have been detained under an illegitimate case," he says in the video.

"One thing should become clear for all of you from this is that fundamental rights in Pakistan, the rights given to us by our constitution and democracy, have been buried."

The international community has also responded to the chaos in Pakistan.

"Restraint and cool headedness are needed" in these tense times, the EU said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Pakistan's challenges can only be addressed and its pathway can only be determined by Pakistanis themselves, through sincere dialogue and in line with the rule of law," it said.

A spokesman from the US State Department called for the "respect of democratic principles and the rule of law around the world".
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
×