At least 3 killed in Pakistan as protests erupt following Imran Khan's arrest

Highlights:

• Three dead, dozen injured in Peshawar
• Army deployed in Punjab; sought in more provinces
• After Imran, PTI's Asad Umar and Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrested 
• Internet services disrupted across nation
• Section 144 imposed in Sindh
• Pak court indicts Imran over Toshakhana case
• Imran remanded for 8 days
• Pak army terms protests as 'black chapter'

At least three dead and dozens injured in Pakistan's Peshawar amid protests following former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's arrest, reports DAWN.com quoting journalist Iftikhar Firdous of a local daily.

He said the bodies and injured were being brought to the Lady Reading Hospital, adding that many of them had not yet been identified.

Firdous also said that the road situation in the city was getting worse.

Meanwhile, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been arrested in Islamabad, reports Geo News.

According to DawnNewsTV, the PTI leader has been arrested from Red Zone in the capital.

An ambulance was wrecked by protesters after being set ablaze and demolished near Jinnah Park on Peshawar's GT road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a statement from an Edhi representative.

Those who were hurt were being taken to the hospital in the ambulance. The official added that another ambulance was also damaged but that no fatalities had been reported.

The police have said that nearly 270 people have been arrested in Karachi so far after protests broke out in the city following Imran Khan's arrest.

In another development, armed forces have been deployed in Punjab to maintain law and order situation following Imran's arrest, reports DAWN.

As unrest erupted following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman (PTI) Imran Khan in a case involving land corruption, killing four protestors in Peshawar, the governments of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Balochistan on Wednesday requested assistance from the army to contain the damage, The News International Pakistan reported.

Islamabad administration has also requested army deployment to keep the law and order situation under control in the capital.

Police have arrested some 1,050 protestors in Punjab over allegations of rioting and violence, following which the total number of arrests made amid the ongoing protests has exceeded 1,050.

A statement issued by the Punjab police spokespersons says video and CCTV footage are being used to identify and arrest "miscreants".

Additionally, authorities issued nationwide school closure orders and kept limiting access to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

In Pakistan's Sindh province, section 144 – a legal measure which bans gatherings of people – has been imposed, a notification said.

According to a news report aired by Geo.tv, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) declared that internet services across the nation would stay suspended indefinitely.

The telecommunications regulator verified that the Ministry of Interior's directions were the basis for the decision to restrict mobile broadband services.

Earlier on Wednesday (10 May), Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was on Wednesday indicted by a court on charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts during his premiership between 2018-22, broadcaster Geo News reported.

The indictment followed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan last October which found Khan guilty of illegally selling state gifts and barred him from holding public office until the next election. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Khan was arrested on Tuesday in another corruption case related to property.

Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Khan in Al-Qadir Trust case from outside the premises of Islamabad High Court where he had gone to seek bail in multiple FIRs registered against him.

Imran was  charged with corruption and corrupt practice in violation of Section 9(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, as per a statement issued by the anti-graft watchdog.

The action by Pakistan's anti-corruption body has led to violent protests across the country, with at least two provinces asking the federal government to deploy troops to restore order.

Just a day after the PTI chairman's dramatic detention from the Islamabad High Court's diary branch, the party's Secretary General Asad Umar was arrested by the personnel of a Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) from the premises of the same court, reports Dawn.

More to follow . . .