PM warns 'state enemies' of strict action as protests grip nation post Imran Khan arrest.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday that strict action would be taken against "state's enemies" as he slammed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for violence that gripped the country after PTI Chairman Imran Khan's arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.

In his address to the nation, the prime minister came down hard on the PTI, calling the party workers' actions 'unforgivable crimes'.

'The miscreants will be dealt with iron hands. They will be punished according to the law,' the prime minister said as he urged PTI protesters to immediately stop 'anti-state activities'.

He added that by staging violent protests, the party's workers had done in a few days what the country's enemies could not do in 75 years.

He hailed the nation for 'rejecting anti-state agenda' and also praised law enforcement agencies, including the military, for showing restraint in the face of violent protests.

He also accused PTI leadership including Khan of instigating a 'few hundred armed workers' to attack the Pakistan Army.

PTI workers 'took patients out of ambulances and set the vehicles on fire', the premier said, adding that the party workers proved their 'anti-state tendencies' by damaging government infrastructure.

'They attacked sensitive property as if they were enemies. I have never seen such heartbreaking scenes.'

PM Shehbaz iterated that protection of the country and its ideology was his responsibility. 'We will not allow anyone to conspire. We will not let their nefarious agenda succeed,' he asserted.

The premier stressed that upholding the rule of law meant fighting the battle in a court. 'Khan was arrested in connection with a corruption case. All evidence is present in the Al Qadir Trust case, which NAB (National Accountability Bureau) is conducting an inquiry into.'

He questioned how Khan had...