Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was forthcoming about the reasons why the administration was refusing to call early elections as required by the constitution when with him on March 26 from his Lahore residence. Khan was also clear about the reaction of his fans should he be imprisoned. He predicted major unrest: “They think that if I’m arrested, they’ll kill me.” “Nobody has faith in this government. Khan, who was ousted as prime minister last year but is still the most well-liked opposition leader in the nation, is the eighth previous prime minister to be detained in Pakistan. Since being ousted from power by a parliamentary no-confidence vote, Khan has been accused in more than 100 cases, including ones involving corruption, terrorism, and blasphemy, his detention was related to the Al-Qadir Trust investigation that the Shehbaz Sharif administration started last year. The authorities said in June that Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi bought land from Malik Riaz, a significant Pakistani real estate mogul, for the Al-Qadir University Trust, which the couple heads, for millions of dollars to erect a school. Khan was detained on Tuesday, according to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), “for the crime of corruption” related to the trust.
Imran Khan might have thought he would have a routine court date when he traveled from Lahore to Islamabad on May 9 to appear before the Islamabad High Court. It was not meant to be. Mr. Khan was carted off the court grounds, put into a car by paramilitary toughs, and handed over to the country’s anti-corruption department 13 months after he was removed as Pakistan’s prime minister following a vote of no confidence. Mr. Khan may have to watch the general elections that are set to take place later this year from a jail cell if they are held at all, rather than running in them as he has been requesting for months. The alleged graft is the claimed justification for Mr. Khan’s arrest. He was accused of corruption in relation to a land deal on May 10 and entered a not-guilty plea before being hauled back into custody by the court. However, it is more likely that the arrest is connected to his intensifying dispute with Pakistan’s armed forces. The Pakistani government is in a terrible light. No matter how strong the case is against Khan or how much evidence there is against him, many people in Pakistan will see this as a form of political harassment. Following Khan’s arrest, fights and riots erupted in all of the nation’s main cities, and they continued on Wednesday as Khan was brought before the court. Supporters of the PTI took to the streets in the nation’s capital Islamabad as well as in other cities like Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta. Khan’s party has lost the backing of coalition allies inside of parliament, depriving him of the majority he needed to overturn the no-confidence vote. Outside, he seemed to lose the backing of Pakistan’s mighty military, which the opposition said assisted him in winning the 2018 general election, and had just recently publicly quarreled with the outgoing prime minister over top military appointments and policy decisions. Khan spoke to the military’s communication wing before leaving for his trial and rebuked them for saying that he had brought the military to shame. He was apprehended shortly after that.
While the long-term outcome of this conflict is still uncertain, it is evident that Pakistan’s military and civilian governments have always had a precarious relationship, with power struggles periodically escalating into open hostilities. It is not anticipated that anything will occur that would significantly favor the current administration. The army cannot support Khan’s re-election in the meantime. He does, however, add that it is “crucial to note” that such a decision would have “severe consequences” for the nation’s democratic institutions. And all of this is happening as the current administration struggles mightily, having failed to rein in spiraling inflation or advance on a vital IMF loan that would have helped the nation out of its economic rut.
This might cause his popularity to increase more in the near future. Khan presents himself as an opponent of the system despite having previously benefited from it. In any case, certain demographics of Pakistanis respond favorably to anti-establishment themes. Since losing his position as prime minister, Khan has been actively mobilizing his supporters. Despite surviving what appeared to be an assassination attempt while campaigning, Khan remains by far the most well-liked politician in the nation, greatly surpassing both Sharif and his brother as well as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
To be determined. Although Khan has frequently demanded that the election be moved up to as soon as feasible, it is anticipated that it will take place in October. The government is wrong to believe that it would be simpler to control Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) without Khan if it can discover a way to prohibit Khan from participating. Khan predicted this in an interview with NPR in March: “I don’t know whether they’ll ultimately disqualify me, but it doesn’t matter because the party I head currently has a popularity wave unequaled in our history. Therefore, the party will win the elections regardless of whether I am imprisoned. However, the issue is still developing. Between now and the election, whenever that may be, anything could happen in Pakistani politics.