WORLD NEWS | Political coups and unrest are part of Pakistani history

Islamabad [Pakistan]May 10 (ANI): Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested by paramilitary rangers on Tuesday and appeared in court on Wednesday in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case, Dawn reported.

Soon after Khan’s arrest, supporters took to the streets to demonstrate against his arrest. Throughout the demonstrations in Punjab, the army was deployed to maintain law and order.

Read also | Shocking America: 1st Grader Forces 6-Year-Old Classmate to ‘Perform Sexual Acts’ in Texas Classroom, Records Behavior on iPad; Investigation Underway.

Earlier, in November, Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf chief was shot in the shin when his anti-government protest convoy was attacked in the country’s east, in what his aides said was an apparent assassination attempt.

Pakistan has a history of coups and instability. Here are some details.

Read also | Afghanistan: Schoolgirls again urge Taliban to open schools.

The most recent incident was the case of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in a shooting and bomb attack following an election rally in Rawalpindi in 2007. The two-term prime minister also survived a suicide bomb assassination attempt in Karachi, where at least 139 people were killed in one of the country’s deadliest attacks. The attack came months before the assassination.

Another occurred in 1999, when former army chief Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup. In June 2001, he was sworn in as president and head of state. After resigning in 2008, Benazir Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, took over as president.

In 1988, military ruler President Mohammad Zia al-Haq was killed in a mysterious crash of a Hercules C-130 plane. Some conspiracy theorists believe a crate of mangoes loaded onto the plane shortly before takeoff contained a timer device that released a gas that passed out the crew.

In 1979, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the father of Benazir who was elected as prime minister in 1970, was hung on a disputed conviction for conspiring to commit a political murder by Zia ul-Haq.

Meanwhile, in 1977, Zia ul-Haq seized power following a coup that toppled Bhutto’s government. He placed Bhutto under house arrest, imposed martial law, suspended the constitution and banned political parties. In 1973, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was elected as prime minister, taking over from General Yahya Khan.

The first ever military coup took place in 1958 when Governor-General Iskander Mirza enforced martial law with General Ayub Khan as chief martial law enforcer. Ayub Khan later became president and sacked Mirza, who was exiled.

Pakistan appointed its first Prime Minister in 1951. Liaquat Ali Khan was shot dead at a political rally in Rawalpindi after the partition of India in 1947. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)