A court in Pakistan on Wednesday remanded former Prime Minister Imran Khan to eight days of custody of the National Accountability Bureau, an anti-corruption body, in the Al-Qadir Trust case, Dawn reported.

Khan was arrested in the case on Tuesday during a court appearance in Islamabad and dragged into an armoured vehicle by paramilitary troops.

The case pertains to the acquisition of land for the Al-Qadir Trust, a non-governmental welfare organisation whose trustees are Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi. The former premier has been accused of granting favours to Malik Riaz Hussain, a powerful real estate tycoon, with a university run by the trust outside Islamabad getting land and donations in return.

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Following Khan’s arrest, his party – the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf – urged citizens to come onto the streets across the country against the “rising fascism” and said that a “make or break moment” had arrived.

Khan’s supporters have torched the residence of the corps commander in Lahore and laid siege to the Army’s headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi. Three people have died in the violence in Peshawar and 42 have been injured.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior said that it has authorised the deployment of the Army in Punjab province to maintain the law and order situation, according to Dawn.

Protests against Pakistan's former PM Khan's arrest in Peshawar. | FayazAziz/Reuters

In Islamabad, the police said that protestors have set on fire the office of the senior superintendent of the Industrial Area. They have also requested the Pakistani government to deploy the Army in the city.

Smoke billows from a Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar. | Reuters/Fayaz Aziz

Meanwhile, the Inter-Services Public Relations, which is the public relations wing of the Armed Forces in Pakistan, said that May 9 will be remembered as a “black chapter” in the country’s history, according to Dawn.

Referring to the protestors, it said: “These miscreants evoke the nation’s emotions for achieving their limited and selfish objectives and on the other hand, they deceive people, continuing to highlight the army’s importance.”