Opinion | By arresting Imran Khan, Pakistan’s army has pushed country to the brink
In the latest twist to the ongoing turmoil in Pakistan, the country’s establishment has compounded the hydra-headed crisis confronting it by arresting Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan. This comes amid an ugly mood in the street owing to economic stagnation and hardship — average inflation is running close to 30 per cent — and the lack of employment and economic opportunities.
Imran Khan has been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in the Al Qadir Trust case, alleging his and his wife’s role in causing a loss of 190 million pounds to the exchequer in the course of his government’s dealings with a property tycoon. He has been hoisted by his own petard. After all, he had come to power in 2018 with more than a helping hand from the army, which involved Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification from holding public office and subsequent conviction in a corruption case through a dubious judicial process. As prime minister, he hounded his political opponents with accountability cases. Having gained popularity on an anti-army, nationalist plank since his ouster from power in April 2022, his quest for an early election has pitted him in a political struggle with the Shehbaz Sharif government, which has brazenly delayed the election to the dissolved assembly of the all-important Punjab province against constitutional norms. The bitter fight has seen all the key institutions of the state — the president, the government backed by its Parliamentary majority, the chief justice of the bitterly divided supreme court, the chief election commissioner and the army — play a partisan role. (Read more)
Firing was heard at least thrice within a span of 30 minutes outside the Islamabad High Court, Dawn reported.
According to a Dawn correspondent, snipers were posted at buildings surrounding the high court. Imran Khan is still inside the court, awaiting secutiy clearance to leave the premises.
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The Islamabad Inspector General, moreover, reached the court, soon after the firing, and is having discussions with the former Pakistan PM.
Senior Superintendent of Police Masood Bangash Friday told reporters that gunshots were being fired from the direction of Mehrabadi, near the capital’s G-11 sector, according to Dawn.
He also added that “people are getting close." “You tell us, how can we transport Imran Khan [from the Islamabad High Court] in this situation; we are awaiting security clearance,” Bangash added.
Islamabad Police Friday issuing a security alert and said that gunshots were being fired at police personnel in the capital’s G-11 and G-13 sectors, Dawn reported.
“The situation is being monitored,” the statement said. The police also highlighted that search teams are combing the area, and no loss of life has been reported till now in these incidents.
Telecom service provider Telenor Friday, expressed its "deep concern" with the current events in Pakistan, following the arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who took up the matter with the authorities, Reuters reported.
The company also said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had instructed telcos in the country to shut down access to mobile internet services, Dawn reported.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif Friday hit out at the Chief Justice of Pakistan, saying that "When he [CJP] said that it was a good to see you, he should have also asked him [Imran Khan] to return sixty billion rupees to the nation, so it was a pleasure to see you."
A day earlier, the CJP had greeted Imran Khan and welcomed him by saying, "Good to see you," as he made an appearance in the court for a hearing on his arrest on May 9 from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in Al-Qadir Trust case.
Amnesty International, the global body defending human rights, Friday referred to the Pakistan government's decision of putting an 'indefinite' mobile internet shutdown as a "clear violation of people's rights to access information and free expression."
Taking to Twitter, the body said, "The restrictions must be lifted immediately."
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Friday criticised the judiciary after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted protective bail to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in all cases registered against him till May 15, Dawn reported.
While addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Rehman said, “You can yourself imagine that where our judiciary is standing and how it is giving decisions against the law and the Constitution... There is hooliganism and terrorism being carried out in the whole country and the court is protecting that terrorism."
Rehman also announced a protest on Monday against Supreme Court's order, which termed Khan's arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case as "illegal". “Today we have decided that there will be a protest against the Supreme Court’s behaviour. "… whole nation should head out for Islamabad on Monday. A big protest will be carried out in front of Supreme Court.”
Moreover, Rehman said, “If anyone does any vandalism or ransacking, then it means PTI miscreants have entered our ranks and they will be caught on the spot.”
The Islamabad High Court Friday barred authorities from arresting former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in all the cases registered against him, including those that were undisclosed, registered across the country till May 15, Dawn reported.
The court also granted him protective bail in three terrorism cases against him in Lahore and Zille Shah murder case, according to the Pakistan daily.
The Islamabad Police Friday said that about 493 people have been arrested since May 9 when protests broke out in several cities following the arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Al-Qadir Trust case.
Out of these, five persons were released due to lack of evidence, whereas three have been released on bail.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Friday said that the internet ban will continue until all the instigators and perpetrators who burnt down houses have been arrested, Dawn reported.
The PML-N leader said that he would have to seek the prime minister’s guidance over the issue if the matters involving Imran Khan are extended beyond May 17, according to Geo News.
“There are many people who used these services legally and they are the ones losing out so we have to keep that under surveillance,” Sanaullah said.
“The situation is that the people who have come out, their entire work is done on the internet, all their abuse, their planning, all of it is done on social media," he added, according to the report.
The Islamabad High Court Friday granted protective bail to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in all the cases registered against him in Islamabad and Lahore, Dawn reported.
While in Islamabad, the court barred police from arresting the former premier till May 17 in any case registered against him after May 9, in Lahore, the police cannot arrest Imran until Monday in any case including those that are undisclosed, the report said.
Earlier in the day, he was granted bail for two weeks in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
The Islamabad High Court, during the hearing of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's bail plea in Al-Qadir Trust case, barred authorities from arresting him in cases registered in the jurisdiction of Islamabad after May 9 till May 17, a Dawn report said.
Earlier in the day, Dawn quoted DawnNewsTV's report which highlighted that Khan’s lawyers also filed four additional pleas which urged the IHC to club all cases against him, and direct authorities to provide details of the cases registered against him.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday told reporters at the Islamabad High Court that the National Aaccountability Bureau (NAB) officials treated him “fine,” but added that he was hit on head while being arrested, Dawn reported.
He also said that he was also not able to get in touch with his wife Bushra Bibi. “I asked the NAB team to let me talk [to her]. They let me talk to her on the landline,” Khan told the reporters.
While talking about the protests in the country, e said, “How could I have stopped whatever happened? I had already told [you] that there would be a reaction to the arrest. “When I was [taken into custody], then how can I be responsible?” the former Pakistan PM asked, according to Dawn.
The Islamabad High Court Friday granted bail to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case, Dawn reported.
The bail hearing came after Pakistan’s Supreme Court invalidated his incarceration yesterday evening, saying that no one could be arrested from inside the court.
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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protesters have disrespected the martyrs of the country in a way that was not even done by “our enemies," Dawn reported.
“The attacks on army installations … there can be no greater terrorism in the country,” he said. “And seeing all this, a country, I don’t want to take its name, was celebrating that what couldn’t happen in 75 years is now happening in Pakistan.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday lamented the violent protests that erupted following Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9. He said that such scenes were not witnessed since the fall of Dhaka during 1973. He recalled that even after the death of former PM Benazir Bhutto protests had erupted but no one “moved towards military installations," Dawn reported.
Sharif also raised questions about the court’s silence during the “political victimisation” of the PML-N and its leaders during PTI's tenure, Dawn reported.
Moreover, referring to the Supreme Court’s proceedings on Khan’s arrest a day earlier, Sharif decried the relief that the top court had extended to him. “When he [Imran] was presented in court yesterday, the CJP said it is good to see you,” Shehbaz lamented. “And he said this in a case of corruption.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during his address to the federal cabinet Friday, said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan and his party are “liars," Dawn reported.
Sharif also blamed the PTI leadership for trying to push the country towards destruction, according to the Pakistan daily.
“As you know the currency is navigating through difficult times, and the challenges we inherited are contributing immensely to aggravating the situation. The previous government violated an agreement with the IMF and we are making attempts to repair that,” he said, according to Dawn.
In an initial brief session of the Islamabad court earlier today, the judges heard a request by Imran Khan's team for posting bail on the graft charges, which under Pakistan's legal system protects the accused from arrest pending trial. As Khan's supporters in the courtroom chanted, the judge adjourned the session for two hours.
In court today, Khan's chief lawyer Babar Awan told reporters that the government seemed to be adamant to arrest the former prime minister.
His comments follow the Interior Ministry's statement yesterday that it could arrest Khan on other charges if he is granted protection in the corruption cases. The government contends that Khan's release rewards and encourages mob violence. (AP)
A team of Lahore police has left for Islamabad to arrest Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan in a number of cases registered against him in Punjab province, according to a media report Friday.
The police team is headed by the deputy inspector general (investigation), the Dawn newspaper reported. It was reported that the joint investigation team probing cases against Imran has informed the Islamabad High Court that it seeks the arrest of chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Khan faces 121 cases across the country, including for committing treason and blasphemy and inciting violence and terrorism. Twelve cases of terrorism have been registered against Khan in Lahore and 14 cases have been registered in Faisalabad. (PTI)
? Imran Khan arrived at the Islamabad High Court premises a little after 11.30 pm amid heavy security
? He then proceeded to the biometrics section of the HC
? The hearing was delayed by around two hours as the Bomb Disposal Squad and other security forces swept the courtroom and premises for potential risks
? The hearing began a little before 1 pm, but was paused within a few minutes to observe the Friday afternoon prayers
? The 70-year-old leader's lawyers have submitted a plea for clubbing all the cases against him into one single case
? Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party said that the ex-PM is expected to address his supporters after the hearing
Hearing on Imran Khan's bail plea in the Al-Qadir Trust case has begun, reported local media. It began after a delay of nearly two hours, as the security official and Bomb Disposal Squad swept the courtroom premises for potential risks.
However, soon after the hearing started, the court took a break for 1 pm Friday prayers.
Television footage showed heavily armed paramilitary troops and police outside the court as Imran Khan was brought in a motorcade of nearly a dozen vehicles.
Khan, wearing dark glasses and dressed in a sky blue shalwar kameez, walked into the court surrounded by lawyers and security forces, the broadcaster said. Geo TV said supporters of Khan clashed with police elsewhere in the city as police cleared roads for his convoy. (Reuters)
The hearing of Imran Khan's bail plea has been delayed as security officials are conducting a security sweep outside the courtroom, reported Pakistani media house Dawn today.
It added that Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has filed a motion to club the numerous cases against him to a single one.
Dawn reported that the former prime minister, along with his wife Bushra Bibi and other PTI leaders, are facing a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry for allegedly “accepting Rs 5 billion and hundreds of kanals (of land) from Bahria Town (an Islamabad-based real estate company) in exchange for protecting the firm in a money laundering case.”
It also said that the land was given to the accused in the form of a “donation” to a non-profit organisation, Al-Qadir Trust, to set-up a university. Notably, the organisation had only two trustees: Imran and Bushra Bibi. The allegation is that the settlement between the firm and the PTI government caused a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer. (Read more)
A division bench of the Islamabad HC, comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtia, will hear ex-PM Imran Khan's bail plea in the Al-Qadir Trust case shortly, as per local media reports.
Initial visuals available show Imran Khan being escorted by heavy police presence inside Islamabad HC today.
Initial visuals available show Imran Khan being escorted by heavy police presence inside Islamabad HC today.
Imran Khan, who is appearing before the Islamabad HC today, has arrived at the court premises and is being taken to the biometrics office, reported local media house DawnNewsTV.
It said that the ex-PM arrived a little after 11.30 am. Footage from the site showed heavy security, including the presence of federal law enforcementt agencies like Rangers. Crowds of his supporters chanting pro-Imran slogans were seen as well.
The ban on mobile internet and social media sites have caused a lag in the information that is coming in from Islamabad.
Imran Khan arrives at Islamabad High Court for bail hearing, reports the news agency AFP.
Ahead of Imran Khan's appearance, security was beefed up outside the Islamabad High Court today, as per local media reports.
Express Tribune reported that Khan's convoy, which set off from Police Lines Guesthouse (where he was held in NAB custody), has a heavy security cover and the route the convoy is taking to Islamabad has heavy police and army presence. Police officials have also put containers and military patrols in the region. Section 144 is still active in the region.
A convoy of security vehicles carrying Imran Khan has left the Police Lines Guesthouse and is expected to reach the court shortly, reports Pakistani daily Express Tribune.
Imran Khan, who was arrested by the NAB on Tuesday, met with 10 people while in custody yesterday, Islamabad police said.
In a tweet today, Islamabad police said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf president Arif Alvi, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed and eight others met PTI chief Imran yesterday at the Police Lines Guest House in the capital city, as per court directives. He also met with his physician Dr Faisal and his legal team.
Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan is expected to appear before the Islamabad High Court soon.
Earlier, it was said that he will appear before the court at 11 am.
Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan is expected to appear before the Islamabad High Court soon.
Earlier, it was said that he will appear before the court at 11 am.
Mobile internet services in Pakistan has been shut down for the fourth day in a row, in the wake of clashes between protesters and police.
Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were down as well.
Imran Khan's PTI party said today that senior leader Dr. Yasmin Rashid has been arrested. The party did not provide any additional details. A medical doctor by profession, the 72-year-old leader has served as the state health minister for Punjab Province.
PTI’s Iron Lady Dr Yasmin Rashid has been arrested! They think they can stop this movement by these arrests, they don’t know that Pakistan has changed forever. We are all Imran Khan now,' PTI said on Twitter.
Another PTI leader Hammad Azhar said in a tweet: “After arresting Dr Yasmin Rashid, her phone was used illegally. People were sent messages to not go to Islamabad. Be careful of this thing.”
Pakistan’s Punjab police have booked former prime minister Imran Khan and 1,500 of his party workers for attacking and setting on fire a top army officer’s house in Lahore.
Enraged over the arrest of their leader in a corruption case on Tuesday, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief’s supporters on Wednesday stormed the General Headquarters of the Army. They set residence of the Lahore Corps Commander on fire while attacking military vehicles and installations.
Khan and others have also been charged with looting valuables worth over 150 million rupees from the Jinnah House. According to the FIR filed on Wednesday, two people were killed in the attack. It said over 1,500 PTI workers and leaders attacked the army officer’s house at the behest of Khan and other senior leaders of the party. (Read more)
Pakistan police "fired on and used excessive force" against protesters after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges on May 9, 2023, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.
"The Pakistani government should uphold the right to peaceful protest while responding to violence with the minimum force needed," said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Criminal acts should be promptly investigated and appropriately prosecuted," she added. (ANI)
After the Pakistan Supreme Court ordered the release of Imran Khan, the country's government denounced the ruling and said it was determined to find other legal avenues to arrest the former premier.
Speaking on Pakistan's Dunya TV, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan vowed, “We will arrest him again,” perhaps on charges that were announced a day earlier of inciting the wave of violence.
The ruling infuriated the government, with multiple officials accusing Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial of bias toward Khan. Chief Justice Bandial “now should hoist the flag of Imran Khan’s party on the Supreme Court, or he should declare that the court is a sub-office of Imran’s party,” Azam Tarar, an adviser for Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, told reporters.
Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif called it a “special reprieve” for the former prime minister, saying the court ignored his supporters’ attacks on military and government installations. (AP)
The United States will continue to monitor the situation in Pakistan, the Biden Administration said, maintaining that it does not have a position on one candidate or the other.
"We continue to monitor the situation in Pakistan closely, and as the US has said before, we don't have a position on one candidate or one political party versus another. What our interest is a safe and secure, prosperous Pakistan. That is in the interest of the US-Pakistan relations, and we call for the respect of democratic principles and the rule of law around the world," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
The United States, he said, does not have a favoured candidate or a favoured political party, not just in Pakistan but as it relates to any government system around the world. "A prosperous and strong, democratic Pakistan is critical to US interests. That remains unchanged." "On some of these areas, such as press freedom, human rights, things of that nature, we have consistently raised these issues with our counterparts not just in Pakistan but in other countries where we have a perspective to offer on that," Patel said in response to a question.
Patel said the US is looking to continue to strengthen economic ties between the two countries with collaboration in areas of security, renewable energy, climate crisis, and increasing agricultural trade. "That's what we mean by a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan that is critical to US interests." (PTI)
PTI has called on its supporters to gather at the Srinagar highway at 10 am today, and said that Imran Khan will address them after appearing before the Islamabad High Court.
Another alleged audio clip purportedly featuring Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and party leader Musarrat Jamshed Cheema emerged yesterday, wherein both apparently discussed his Tuesday's arrest and related case hearing at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), reported Dawn.
The purported audio leak came immediately after the Supreme Court termed Khan's arrest "invalid and unlawful." Nearly 72 hours after his arrest, the SC ruled that the former PM's arrest was not legal and directed him to appear before the IHC tomorrow at 11 am. It also said that Imran would be kept at the Police Lines Guest House, where he was previously being kept, and directed the government to guarantee the PTI chief's security.
In the audio — posted by journalist Murtaza Shah — a voice, suggested to be of Imran, could be heard telling Cheema to approach the top court, apparently against his arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), reported Dawn. (ANI)
The police crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders continues as Dr Shireen Mazari, the party's Senior Vice President, was arrested by Islamabad Police from his residence in the federal capital during the wee hours on Friday, reported The News International.
She was arrested in a pre-dawn raid at her residence in the federal capital on Friday.
Her arrest comes after a series of arrests of multiple other PTI leaders, including Imran Khan, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry. (ANI)
In a major relief for Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday declared the former prime minister’s arrest “illegal” and ordered his immediate release after he was produced before a bench on its orders.
The order to produce 70-year-old Khan was issued by a three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah.
The bench, which heard Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman’s plea against his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, expressed anger at the way Khan was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad High Court. (Read more)
In a major relief for Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday declared the former prime minister’s arrest “illegal” and ordered his immediate release after he was produced before a bench on its orders.
The order to produce 70-year-old Khan was issued by a three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah.
The bench, which heard Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman’s plea against his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, expressed anger at the way Khan was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad High Court. (Read more)