Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday that the day Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court on May 9 was “another Black Day” in the country’s history.

The foreign minister, flanked by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, said at a press conference: “In Pakistan’s history, several days are marked as “Black Days,” and now May 9 has been added to the list.”

Following Khan’s arrest, violent protests erupted across Pakistan on Tuesday, with dozens injured and demonstrators attacking military buildings.

Tensions remained high today, with paramilitary troops and police on the streets of major cities; meanwhile, mobile data services remained suspended, and schools and offices in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were closed.

The Islamabad police department announced earlier today that troops had arrived in the capital city.

Since Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, protesters have stormed military buildings, ransacked the residence of a top army general in Lahore, and set fire to state buildings and assets in other cities.

“We [Pakistan Peoples’ Party – PPP] never celebrate when a political leader is arrested because we believe that when political leaders are arrested, it is the loss of politics at large,” he said, emphasising that the PPP has never celebrated or distributed sweets in such situations.

He went on to say that his party had always been “against” the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), whereas the PTI had always defended and benefited from it.

“Khan sb initiated a campaign to save NAB; when we demanded amendments, he said we are seeking NRO and didn’t agree on the proposed amendments,” he said, adding that now that the new laws have been introduced, the PTI chief has benefited from them.

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