PAKISTAN’S former prime minister Imran Khan can be kept in custody for eight days, a court ruled today.

This opposition leader was dragged from a courtroom on Tuesday and arrested on corruption charges, deepening the country's political turmoil.

Mr Khan’s arrest set off skirmishes between his supporters and police in several cities, leaving at least six people dead, and his continued detention raised the prospect of further unrest. 

Angry protesters stormed a radio station in the north-west today, while supporters clashed with police in the capital Islamabad.

The cricketer turned politician was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote last year, but he remains the country’s most popular opposition figure.

Mr Khan was detained when he was pulled out of a hearing on one set of charges, only to be arrested on another. 

He has denounced the allegations against him, which include corruption and terrorism charges, as stemming from a politically motivated plot by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to keep him from returning to power in the next elections, due later this year. 

Mr Khan has campaigned against Mr Sharif and demanded that the balloting be brought forward.

Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has appealed for calm, but the confrontation put the country on high alert after Tuesday’s clashes.

Police deployed in force nationwide. In Islamabad, officers placed shipping containers on a road leading to the sprawling police compound where Mr Khan is being held.

A total of 945 Khan supporters have been arrested in the eastern  province of Punjab alone since Tuesday. They include Asad Umar and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, two senior figures in Mr Khan’s party.

The ex-premier appeared before a temporary tribunal inside a police compound yesterday, with the judge saying that he could be held for eight days. 

In the latest case, Mr Khan has been accused of accepting millions of dollars worth of property in exchange for providing benefits to a property tycoon. 

Amid the violence sparked by the arrest, Pakistan’s telecommunication authority has blocked social media, including Twitter. 

The government also suspended internet service in Islamabad and other cities. Classes at some private schools were cancelled yesterday and several social media sites remained suspended.

Human rights group Amnesty International said it was alarmed by reports of Pakistani authorities blocking access to mobile internet networks and social media. 

Amnesty urged authorities to show restraint, saying that clashes between the security forces and Khan supporters could lead to human rights violations.