Imran renews call for protests
PTI chief Imran Khan is addressing his supporters from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on May 13, 2023. Photo: NNI
Lashing out at the federal government on Monday, former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan issued a call for peaceful protests against a 'threat' to the sanctity of the Supreme Court and the Constitution of Pakistan.
“All citizens be ready for peaceful protests as once again Constitution and SC destroyed, it is the end of the Pak dream [sic],” he said, taking to Twitter earlier today.
The former prime minister condemned the arrests of PTI workers and protestors in the aftermath of his arrest and subsequent rioting last week.
“So without any investigation into who was responsible for arson on government building or dozens of deaths of unarmed protesters by bullet wounds, around 7,000 PTI workers, leadership and our women have been jailed with plans to ban the largest and only federal party in Pak [sic],” said Imran.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 15, 2023
The deposed prime minister has further called out the country’s security forces for colluding with the federal government in what he described as subversion of the Constitution. “Meanwhile these goons are being facilitated by our security agencies to take over the SC and subvert the constitution [sic],” the former premier said as he shared clips of people climbing over a gate and entering the Red Zone at the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) protest outside the Supreme Court (SC) today.
On May 9, 2023, troops of paramilitary Rangers barged into the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises, where Imran had appeared in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case to face graft proceedings against him, and whisked the former premier away in a whirlwind raid carried out on the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) behalf.
Read How international media covered Imran Khan’s arrest
The arrest, or “abduction” as PTI claims, took place before the court proceedings could begin. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq called into question the manner of arrest, issuing contempt notices to the interior secretary and the Islamabad inspector-general of police (IGP) but maintained that the arrest itself was legal.
The next day, the IHC granted NAB eight-day physical remand of the PTI chairperson and indicted him in a separate graft case for which Imran and his legal team had earlier boycotted proceedings.
On May 11, however, the Supreme Court declared Imran’s arrest illegal and issued directives for his immediate release.
Imran’s arrest brought the country to a standstill, with the government shutting off mobile internet services and restricting public access to information in retaliation to widespread protests across major cities. The apparent dismissal of proper procedure when dealing with an accused and the involvement of the country’s paramilitary forces also garnered international attention, with global media outlets pointing at escalating tensions between the deposed prime minister and the incumbent civil-military relationships. Pakistan’s already flailing economy took further hits in the aftermath of the arrest given the political uncertainty and suspension of internet services.
Scores of people took to the streets in protest against Imran’s arrests highlighting once again his position as a popular leader. Several of them barged into crucial military buildings as well as residential areas in retaliation. The previous week also saw arrests of prominent PTI leaders such as Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry and Yasmin Rashid. Some of the PTI leadership remain under arrest.
The political turmoil has yet to subside with tensions running high between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led federal government, its allies united under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) banner and the PTI. Hundreds of PTI workers and supporters have been rounded up in the aftermath of Imran’s release.