8-Day Custody For Imran Khan, He Claims Torture, "Not Allowed To Use Toilet"

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sent to the custody of the country's top anti-corruption body for eight days. The National Accountability (NAB) had asked a court in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, where Mr Khan appeared today, for a custody of 10 days for questioning in corruption cases.

Mr Khan was arrested during a routine hearing in Islamabad yesterday. He was taken away to an unknown location overnight before appearing behind closed doors in a specially convened court at the police headquarters.

Mr Khan alleged in court that he was tortured in custody and was not allowed to even use the washroom.

The former cricketing superstar, who remains popular in Pakistan, alleged he was given an injection to induce a slow heart attack.

The Islamabad court will hear the matter next on May 17.

Massive protests have broken out across Pakistan by supporters of Mr Khan. The protests have led to widespread destruction of properties.

Mr Khan says the myriad legal cases are part of an effort by the struggling government and military establishment to prevent him from returning to power.

The drama follows months of political crisis during which Mr Khan, who was ousted in April last year, has waged an unprecedented campaign against Pakistan's military.

Mr Khan's arrest also came hours after the military rebuked him for alleging that a senior officer had been involved in a plot to kill him.

Pakistan politicians have frequently been arrested and jailed since the country's founding in 1947, but few have so directly challenged a military that has staged at least three coups and had ruled for more than three decades.

Pakistan's interior ministry has ordered mobile internet services cut and restricted access to social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

The authorities have ordered schools closed across the country -- with end of year exams cancelled for students.

Hundreds of police officers have been injured across the country, while in Pakistan's most populous province of Punjab nearly 1,000 people have been arrested and the army ordered to deploy to keep peace.

With inputs from AFP