Shahbaz Sharif of Pakistan orders the arrest of those involved in violence

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, has ordered authorities to identify and arrest all those involved in violent acts that erupted after former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest earlier this week. On Tuesday, Khan was arrested in a land fraud case, which the Supreme Court ruled as “invalid and unlawful” on Thursday, sparking violent protests by his supporters.

Khan was granted bail on Friday and departed the court premises amidst high security towards his hometown, Lahore. However, his arrest resulted in violent protests across the country, with supporters storming military establishments, setting ablaze a state broadcaster building, smashing buses, ransacking a top army official’s house, and attacking other assets.

The violence led to nearly 2,000 arrests, and the army was deployed in multiple cities. At least eight people were killed in the unrest, which occurred in a country facing an economic crisis, with record inflation, anemic growth, and delayed IMF funding.

Khan, who is a cricket star-turned-politician and Pakistan’s most popular leader, according to opinion polls, is expected to address his followers virtually on Saturday. On Friday, he welcomed the court’s bail order, saying the judiciary was Pakistan’s only protection against the “law of the jungle.”

Many cities in Pakistan saw violent protests following Khan’s arrest by the anti-graft agency. He denies any wrongdoing.

In addition, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter were inaccessible in Pakistan on Saturday after having been temporarily restored on Friday, according to journalists from Reuters. The Ministry of Interior instructed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to suspend mobile broadband services across the country and blocked access to the social media sites on Tuesday night. While they were available again on Friday night, they became inaccessible again on Saturday.