Crowds gather outside Pakistan embassy in London as former PM Imran Khan arrested in Islamabad

9 May 2023, 17:32

Crowds have gathered outside the Pakistan embassy in London in protest at the arrest of the country's former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Mr Khan, who was ousted as Prime Minister in April 2022, was arrested on corruption charges on Tuesday in the Pakistani capital. He claims the charges are politically motivated.

Mr Khan's charge sheet says he "is accused of commission of the offence of corruption and corrupt practices under section 9(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance".

A large crowd has assembled outside of the Pakistan High Commisison in Knightsbridge.

The former cricketer's supporters have been told to "shut down Pakistan" in protest at his arrest.

His Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) wrote on Twitter: "It’s your time, people of Pakistan. Khan has always stood for you, now its time to stand for him," the PTI wrote on Twitter.

Protesters gathered in Islamabad said his arrest was "absolutely the last straw".

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One protester told the BBC: "What else can we do? What else is there left in Pakistan? We have never said a word against the army, I wish we had.

"Let there be anarchy, let there be chaos. If there is no Imran, there's nothing left in Pakistan. No one is there to take over."

LBC's Ishan Garg said the arrest and protests come at a "very crucial time".

He added: "This is certainly likely to heighten up the political instability in the country that's already dealing with massive amounts of economic pressure.

"The country is already in talks with the international Monetary Fund for a bailout as it's witnessing skyrocketing inflation.

"And this political instability due to the arrest of Mr Imran Khan is likely to make a situation really bad."

It comes after Mr Khan was rushed to hospital in November after being shot four times at a pro-election rally in north-eastern Pakistan.

His supporters claimed it was an assassination attempt.