BREAKING NEWS: Protests rock Pakistan as police seize ex-PM Imran Khan

Protests have broke out in several Pakistani cities after the former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested at the High Court in the capital, Islamabad.

Khan was appearing in court on charges of corruption, which he said are politically motivated, according to BBC.

Footage showed dozens of paramilitary forces in armoured vehicles seized the 70-year-old after he entered the court compound, then drove him away.

Pakistans took to the streets and blocked some key roads following the arrest of Khan.

Khan was ousted as PM in April last year and has been campaigning for early elections since then.

General elections are due to be held later this year.

Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour, Mr Khan’s spokesman, Raoof Hasan, said he expected “the worst” and that the arrest could plunge the country “into chaos and anarchy”.

“We’re facing multiple crises. There is an economic crisis, there is a political crisis, there is a cost of livelihood crisis and consequently this occasion will be a catharsis for them to step out and I fear a fair amount of violence is going to be back,” Hasan said.

A member of Khan’s legal team, Raja Mateen, said undue force had been used against him.

“Mr Khan went into the biometric office for the biometrics. The rangers went there, they broke the windows, they hit Mr Khan on the head with a baton,” said Mateen.

“And they dragged Mr Khan from there. They didn’t care that this person had come to court while injured.”

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has called on its supporters to protest. In the hours since he was detained, violence has been reported from a number of cities including Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar.

On the streets of Islamabad, hundreds of protesters blocked one of the main highways in and out of the capital.