1,000 arrested in Pakistan’s Punjab after Imran protests

News Desk

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in Pakistan’s Punjab, the country’s most populous province, since protests erupted after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, police said on Wednesday.

“Police teams arrested 945 law breakers and miscreants from across the province,” officials said in a statement to media, adding 130 officers and officials were injured in the violence that broke out after Khan’s arrest on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s government gave the go-ahead for soldiers to be deployed in Punjab province following riots sparked by the arrest of former, according to an official order from the interior ministry.

The order said the date and duration of the deployment, which was requested by the Punjab provincial government, had yet to be finalized, as well as the number of troops involved.

At least four people died in clashes in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday, a hospital official said.