Pakistanis Fill the Streets of Canada to Protest Imran Khan Arrest

Pakistanis living in North America held rallies on Tuesday to protest the arrest of former prime minister and current candidate Imran Khan in Islamabad. An especially large demonstration was held in Mississauga, Ontario.

Thousands upon thousands of Pakistani Canadians gathered today at Mississauga Celebration Square to protest against the fascist abduction of Pakistan’s most popular & beloved leader Imran Khan.

Massive protests have erupted around the globe against the blatant fascism.… pic.twitter.com/8JWoB7J8uK

— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 10, 2023

Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), actively encouraged Pakistani-Canadians to assemble at the consulate:

Fellow Pakistani Canadians have started to gather in front of the Consulate General of Pakistan in Toronto; 7880 KEELE ST. UNIT 14, Vaughan, ON, L4K 4G7

Please join to record your protest! pic.twitter.com/W7sM7YBrhj

— PTI Canada Official (@PTIOfficialCA) May 9, 2023

Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday in a sudden and surprisingly violent operation by a paramilitary unit of Pakistani law enforcement. He was forcibly taken from the premises of the Islamabad High Court, where he was scheduled to appear for hearings on one of several corruption cases stemming from his premiership.

Khan and his supporters believe his arrest, and all of the corruption allegations against him, are politically motivated efforts to prevent him from running against incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the next election. Khan reiterated on Tuesday his belief that the Sharif government, Pakistan’s military, and the intelligence services are trying to kill him. He blamed them for the assassination attempt in November that left him with an injured leg.

Pakistani police have arrested almost a thousand people over the past 24 hours as violent protests erupted across the country following Khan’s arrest. The police said eight people have died so far in the unrest.

The Pakistani Army deployed troops on Wednesday to Khan’s home province of Punjab and to the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan supporters blocked roads and smashed government offices. Pakistani officials on Wednesday issued emergency orders in several provinces to ban PTI gatherings, and have reportedly begun shutting down mobile services and the Internet in some areas to make it harder for Khan supporters to organize demonstrations. 

On Wednesday morning, Khan was indicted on charges of illegally selling state gifts between 2018 and 2022, when he was ejected from the prime minister’s office by a parliamentary vote of no confidence. These were not the charges he was arrested for on Tuesday, but were among the nearly one hundred other cases pending against him.