Supporters of the Pakistani opposition party Tehreek-e-Insaf attacked the residence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore, a Pakistani police spokesman said.
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According to the source, more than 500 people came to the building and set fire to cars parked there.
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“They also threw petrol bombs at the prime minister’s house,” the Punjab police spokesman added.
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He noted that at the time of the attack, only guards were present at the residence, and the protesters dispersed immediately after the police arrived. Authorities also said that during the two days of protests, protesters set fire to 14 government facilities and buildings and 21 police cars in Punjab province.
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Protests in Pakistan began on Tuesday evening after the detention of ex-premier, leader of Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, by the National Bureau of Reporting (Economic Intelligence) in the Al-Qadir case.
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According to investigators, the politician, along with his wife and leaders of his party, founded a trust to create Al-Qadeer University and, by their actions, caused damage to the state budget by 50 billion rupees (more than 173 million US dollars at the current exchange rate). On Wednesday, a court in Islamabad arrested Khan for eight days.
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In addition to Khan, Pakistani police also detained Tehrik-e-Insaf vice-premiers Fawad Chaudhry and Shah Mahmoud Qureshi, as well as party general secretary Asad Umar.
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Shortly after Khan’s detention, his party called for mass rallies across the country. In response, the Pakistani authorities ordered the deployment of army units to the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the capital of Pakistan, where the most violent protests are taking place.
