It seems Pakistan's ongoing political tussle and chaos is far from over even after the country's supreme court on Thursday (11) extended relief to former prime minister Imran Khan and sought his immediate release, two days after he was dramatically arrested outside the high court in Islamabad in a corruption case. It also called his arrest illegal.
Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government Khan has often criticised in strong terms since his own ouster in April last year, decried the top court's proceedings on the latter lamenting that when Khan was produced in the court, the chief justice of Pakistan told him "it was good to see you".
“And he said this in a case of corruption," Sharif was quoted as saying by the Pakistani media.
“If you want to keep favouring this ladla (pampered), then you should also release all the dacoits behind bars in the country. Let this be free for all,” he said while addressing the federal cabinet.
Sharif accused supporters of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of pushing the country, which is already facing several challenges, towards destruction.
“As you know the currency is navigating through difficult times, and the challenges we inherited are contributing immensely to aggravating the situation. The previous government violated an agreement with the IMF and we are making attempts to repair that,” he said.
Sharif also addressed the nation on Wednesday (10), a day after Khan was arrested and tyhe supporters of PTI fueled violent protests across the nation. He said a political leader should not allow his party workers to take law into their hands, accusing both Khan and PTI over the violence and vandalism.
He said any damage to the public property was an act of terrorism and warned that miscreants would be dealt with an iron hand and be punished if they did not desist from anti-state activities, Pakistan's The Nation newspaper reported.
The prime minister, whose residence in Lahore also came under attack, lamented the violence that erupted after Khan's arrest and said such scenes were not seen since the fall of Dhaka in the early 1970s.
The PML-N leader also said that while protests erupted after the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, no one "moved towards military installations".
Thousands of PTI protesters targeted military establishments after Khan's arrest, including the Pakistan Army's headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Sharif also questioned the court accusing it of staying silent when the PML-N leadership was allegedly targeted when the PTI was in power, Dawn reported.
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