Pakistan. Thousands of arrests among Khan's supporters

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in Punjab after fierce protests over the arrest of Justice Movement leader and former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, police said Wednesday and was quoted by international news agencies. Over a hundred police officers and officials were also injured in the clashes. The Pakistani government approved on Wednesday the deployment of soldiers in the province to help contain the violent protests triggered by the arrest of the former prime minister, according to an official order from the Interior Ministry.

Tensions remain very high in the country; today Khan is before the judge who should confirm the arrest for a case of corruption. But other similar accusations are also pending on the former national cricket star, which his party however defines as political persecution. Seventy-year-old Imran Khan is more popular than ever and his supporters have taken to the streets in protests that seem unstoppable. Authorities also ordered the closure of schools across the nation and continued to restrict access to social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Imran Khan was removed as Chief Executive in April 2022, after he lost the support of the army and suffered a vote of no confidence in him.

Since his fall, Khan, 70, the subject of dozens of prosecutions and whose relationship with the military establishment has only deteriorated in recent months, has attempted to lobby to organize snap elections before October in hopes of returning to power , but without success.