Why two luxury London homes are at the centre of Pakistan’s turmoil

Supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan protesting against his arrest in May, outside a luxury apartment block in London linked to his rival Nawaz Sharif. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

When the former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was arrested last month, it triggered uproar across the country, with days of protest and violence. The unrest was not limited to Islamabad: it also spilled over into the streets of London.

Such was the disruption at one address just off London’s exclusive Park Lane that the Metropolitan police imposed a dispersal order on the area, temporarily banning gatherings. The street is allegedly home to Khan’s bitter rival, Nawaz Sharif, a three-time former prime minister of Pakistan and brother of the current leader, Shehbaz Sharif.