May 9 (Reuters) – Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan at Islamabad High Court on Tuesday, in a dramatic move that threatens fresh turmoil in the nuclear-armed country as his party called for nationwide protests.
Footage of the arrest showed dozens of paramilitary troops in riot-control gear surrounding Khan and leading him into a black van by his arm.
Khan’s arrest comes a day after the powerful military issued a rare public rebuke of the former premier for repeated accusations against a senior military official of attempting to assassinate him and the military’s former chief of being behind the move to remove him from power.
A high court in Islamabad has summoned authorities to explain Khan’s arrest on court premises. Tensions ran high in major cities following the arrest.
Hundreds of supporters blocked streets in Khan’s home town of Lahore, where police have been put on high alert, as well as the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Protesters also blocked a major road in the port city of Karachi, according to Reuters witnesses.