Pakistan opposition leader Imran Khan can be held for eight days for questioning, a judge ruled on Wednesday after the former prime minister was dragged from a courtroom and arrested over corruption charges.
He was indicted for unlawfully selling state gifts during his premiership between 2018-22.
His arrest led to violent clashes and his supporters protested outside the military’s headquarters on Tuesday. More protests erupted on Wednesday.
The indictment followed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan last October which found Mr Khan guilty of illegally selling state gifts and barred him from holding public office until the next election.
He has denied any wrongdoing and his supporters were planning to march to Islamabad, where the former prime minister is in custody in a corruption case, on Wednesday.
There were concerns that that could lead to more clashes with security forces.
Mr Khan was arrested on Tuesday by paramilitary troops on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau, an autonomous anti-corruption agency, in relation to a case involving a land deal.
He was moved to its headquarters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi for questioning late into the night as angry protests erupted across Pakistan.
The Islamabad High Court said late on Tuesday that the arrest was legal, according to Mr Khan’s lawyer, Intazar Hussain Panjutha.
Mr Khan’s legal team intends to challenge his detention and any request from the NAB to keep him in custody, Mr Panjutha added.
The arrest came a day after the country's powerful military rebuked Mr Khan for repeatedly accusing a senior military officer of trying to engineer his assassination and the former armed forces chief of being behind his removal from power last year.
In response, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party called for a “shutdown” across the country, with Mr Khan's supporters clashing with police in many cities and storming military buildings in Lahore and Rawalpindi, according to witnesses and videos.
Supporters in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were asked to gather early on Wednesday in Swabi city to leave for Islamabad as part of a convoy, the party wrote on Twitter.
Party leaders asked workers to continue protests but not take the “law in their hands”, they wrote on Twitter.
A police spokesman told Reuters that Mr Khan would not be taken to court and his scheduled hearing would instead take place at the location where he is being held.
The former cricket star, 70, has regularly criticised members of the military, Pakistan’s most powerful institution, since he was ousted as prime minister in April last year.
'More violence … on the way'
A prolonged detention for Mr Khan, whose popularity has been surging ahead of an election that must be called by mid-August, threatens to destabilise Pakistan just as it looks to secure more cash from the International Monetary Fund to avoid default.
“More protests, more disruption, more violence, and more political and economic dysfunction is on the way,” Hasnain Malik, a strategist at Tellimer in Dubai, told Bloomberg.
“Taking the painful decisions the economy needs and holding orderly elections will become even harder now.”
As news of Mr Khan’s detention spread, his supporters in several cities took to the streets and clashed with security forces, who fired tear gas and tried to beat them back.
A video from Mr Khan’s party showed some supporters wielding sticks and face masks entering the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi and shouting angrily.
Protesters also stormed the official residence of the top regional commander in Lahore, a rare breach of an area controlled by the military. Both sites were later cleared.
Mr Khan’s party reported at least four people were killed and 20 injured in separate clashes. Protesters also set fire to at least three buildings across Pakistan, while police said dozens of supporters were arrested.
The Interior Ministry suspended mobile broadband services in parts of the country, while complaints of slow internet spread on social media.
It is unclear whether Mr Khan will be released before the election. The NAB in the past has detained former prime ministers and top government officials for lengthy periods of time before they have been released and ultimately found innocent.
During Mr Khan’s administration, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was then in opposition, was arrested by the NAB and kept in custody for nearly seven months.
Mr Sharif’s government attempted but failed to arrest Mr Khan over charges in several cases in recent months, in part to avoid stoking public anger that could further increase his popularity.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday the government had no control over the NAB.
“Given that Khan was detained by paramilitary forces, this was likely the military acting directly,” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Centre, told Bloomberg.
“But if so, the civilian leadership, given their long and ugly vendetta with Khan, surely backed the move.”
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Mobile phone packages comparison
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
Central%20Bank's%20push%20for%20a%20robust%20financial%20infrastructure
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ECBDC%20real-value%20pilot%20held%20with%20three%20partner%20institutions%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20buy%20now%2C%20pay%20later%20regulations%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20for%20the%202023%20launch%20of%20the%20domestic%20card%20initiative%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPhase%20one%20of%20the%20Financial%20Infrastructure%20Transformation%20(FiT)%20completed%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')
Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Leganes v Getafe (12am)
Levante v Alaves (4pm)
Real Madrid v Sevilla (7pm)
Osasuna v Valladolid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Eibar v Atletico Madrid (12am)
Mallorca v Valencia (3pm)
Real Betis v Real Sociedad (5pm)
Villarreal v Espanyol (7pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Barcelona v Granada (12am)
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
