Pakistan opposition leader Imran Khan can be held for eight days for questioning, a judge ruled on Wednesday after the former prime minister was dragged from a courtroom and arrested over corruption charges.
He was indicted for unlawfully selling state gifts during his premiership between 2018-22.
His arrest led to violent clashes and his supporters protested outside the military’s headquarters on Tuesday. More protests erupted on Wednesday.
The indictment followed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan last October which found Mr Khan guilty of illegally selling state gifts and barred him from holding public office until the next election.
He has denied any wrongdoing and his supporters were planning to march to Islamabad, where the former prime minister is in custody in a corruption case, on Wednesday.
There were concerns that that could lead to more clashes with security forces.
Mr Khan was arrested on Tuesday by paramilitary troops on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau, an autonomous anti-corruption agency, in relation to a case involving a land deal.
He was moved to its headquarters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi for questioning late into the night as angry protests erupted across Pakistan.
The Islamabad High Court said late on Tuesday that the arrest was legal, according to Mr Khan’s lawyer, Intazar Hussain Panjutha.
Mr Khan’s legal team intends to challenge his detention and any request from the NAB to keep him in custody, Mr Panjutha added.
The arrest came a day after the country's powerful military rebuked Mr Khan for repeatedly accusing a senior military officer of trying to engineer his assassination and the former armed forces chief of being behind his removal from power last year.
In response, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party called for a “shutdown” across the country, with Mr Khan's supporters clashing with police in many cities and storming military buildings in Lahore and Rawalpindi, according to witnesses and videos.
Supporters in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were asked to gather early on Wednesday in Swabi city to leave for Islamabad as part of a convoy, the party wrote on Twitter.
Party leaders asked workers to continue protests but not take the “law in their hands”, they wrote on Twitter.
A police spokesman told Reuters that Mr Khan would not be taken to court and his scheduled hearing would instead take place at the location where he is being held.
The former cricket star, 70, has regularly criticised members of the military, Pakistan’s most powerful institution, since he was ousted as prime minister in April last year.
'More violence … on the way'
A prolonged detention for Mr Khan, whose popularity has been surging ahead of an election that must be called by mid-August, threatens to destabilise Pakistan just as it looks to secure more cash from the International Monetary Fund to avoid default.
“More protests, more disruption, more violence, and more political and economic dysfunction is on the way,” Hasnain Malik, a strategist at Tellimer in Dubai, told Bloomberg.
“Taking the painful decisions the economy needs and holding orderly elections will become even harder now.”
As news of Mr Khan’s detention spread, his supporters in several cities took to the streets and clashed with security forces, who fired tear gas and tried to beat them back.
A video from Mr Khan’s party showed some supporters wielding sticks and face masks entering the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi and shouting angrily.
Protesters also stormed the official residence of the top regional commander in Lahore, a rare breach of an area controlled by the military. Both sites were later cleared.
Mr Khan’s party reported at least four people were killed and 20 injured in separate clashes. Protesters also set fire to at least three buildings across Pakistan, while police said dozens of supporters were arrested.
The Interior Ministry suspended mobile broadband services in parts of the country, while complaints of slow internet spread on social media.
It is unclear whether Mr Khan will be released before the election. The NAB in the past has detained former prime ministers and top government officials for lengthy periods of time before they have been released and ultimately found innocent.
During Mr Khan’s administration, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was then in opposition, was arrested by the NAB and kept in custody for nearly seven months.
Mr Sharif’s government attempted but failed to arrest Mr Khan over charges in several cases in recent months, in part to avoid stoking public anger that could further increase his popularity.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday the government had no control over the NAB.
“Given that Khan was detained by paramilitary forces, this was likely the military acting directly,” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Centre, told Bloomberg.
“But if so, the civilian leadership, given their long and ugly vendetta with Khan, surely backed the move.”
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
