ISLAMABAD: More than two dozen Pakistani nationals, who were arrested on Sunday for protesting the ouster of Imran Khan at Istanbul’s Taksim Square, would be released soon, the Pakistani mission in Turkey said on Tuesday.
Khan was ousted early Sunday, when he lost a no-confidence vote after being deserted by his party’s lawmakers and coalition partners. In a show of strength and a precursor to the political uncertainty ahead, Khan rallied hundreds of thousands of supporters in protests Sunday night, describing the new leadership as an “imposed government” that colluded with the United States to oust him.
His backers marched in cities across Pakistan as well as abroad, waving party flags, shouting slogans, and promising his return to power. A group of Pakistani students, who staged a similar protest at the Taksim Square, was arrested by the Turkish police Sunday evening.
“On the evening of April 10, 27 Pakistani nationals (mostly students) were arrested at Taksim Square for holding a demonstration without obtaining the required prior permission from Turkish authorities,” Mahroo Arshad, press attaché at the Pakistani embassy in Ankara, told Arab News.
“The Turkish authorities have informed that the arrested Pakistani nationals are likely to be released by the evening of Tuesday, provided they have valid legal residence permits or visas and have no other criminal record.”
The image posted on August 2021 shows the exterior view of Pakistani embassy in Ankara. (Photo courtesy: Online)
Turkey has a record of cracking down on protests that rights organizations, including the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly condemned.
Under the Turkish law on meetings and demonstrations (Law No. 2911), a locality’s highest civil authority will give a permission for a march or demonstration, and the location of a meeting or demonstration or the route of a march can be changed, if necessary, to ensure public order and peace.
Arshad said Pakistan’s embassy and the consulate general in Istanbul had immediately established contact after the arrests and had since been in touch with the Turkish side for consular access and facilitating an early release of these Pakistanis.
