At least one protester has been killed amid fears of a worsening political and economic crisis in Pakistan, as former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested.
Mr Khan's arrest comes a day after the military rebuked him for repeatedly accusing an officer of trying to engineer his assassination.Mobile data services have been suspended and police have banned public gatherings in parts of the country.
Dozens of paramilitary troops in riot-control gear surrounded Mr Khan - Pakistan's most popular leader according to opinion polls - and led him into a black van by his arm.Authorities in three of Pakistan's four provinces imposed an emergency order banning all gatherings after Mr Khan's supporters clashed with police, blocked major roads in a string of cities and stormed military buildings in Lahore and Rawalpindi, according to witnesses and videos shared by his party.
An International Monetary Fund bailout package has been delayed for months even though foreign exchange reserves are barely enough to cover a month's imports. Mr Sanaullah added that UK authorities had returned £190 million to Pakistan in connection with money laundering but that Mr Khan had returned the money to the developer instead of keeping it in the national exchequer.
In most of the cases, Mr Khan faces being barred from holding public office if convicted, with a general election scheduled for November. Hundreds of Khan supporters blocked streets in cities and major highways across the country, including in Mr Khan's home town of Lahore and in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where police went on high alert and banned public gatherings.
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