2023-05-11 12:38:32
Imran Khan appeared on Wednesday, May 10, before a special court, in the premises of the Islamabad police, without an audience. The former Pakistani prime minister, arrested the day before in the capital’s High Court by paramilitaries, was detained for eight days on allegations of corruption. His fate is now very uncertain. To avoid new riots, the army deployed its soldiers in two provinces favorable to the former prime minister, in Punjab, the most populous province of the country and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as in Islamabad.
It was in Lahore, the capital of Punjab, that the day before, following the arrest of Imran Khan, took place an event which summed up the state of the country: an angry mob took over, ransacked and torched the residence of the province’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Salman Fayyaz Ghani. On Wednesday morning, demonstrators still surrounded the residence, chanting: “Khan is our red line and you have crossed it”. The soldier and his family have been transferred to a safe place.
The Pakistanis no longer contain their resentment towards the army, which Imran Khan accuses of having fomented his ouster from power a year ago, and orchestrated his assassination attempt in November 2022.
Repressive response
The major cities of the country continued on Wednesday to be the scene of violent unrest. In Peshawar, protesters set fire to the building that houses Radio Pakistan and the national news agency Associated Press of Pakistan, elsewhere they attacked government or police buildings. Over 2,000 protesters were arrested. Schools have been closed, internet access restricted or cut off to prevent protesters from organizing. The country has its first dead: eight people were killed according to a provisional report Thursday, May 11, in the morning.
The main leaders of Pakistan’s Tehrik-e-Insaf (Pakistan Justice Movement, PTI), the party of Imran Khan, have been arrested, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the former foreign minister, Asad Umar, the former Minister of Finance and Vice President of the PTI, and Fawad Chaudhry, former Minister of Information and Secretary General of the party. The Sharif government seems determined to disqualify Imran Khan and dismantle his formation. He has chosen to respond with force to the massive political crisis that threatens to destabilize the country’s political and military institutions. It is highly likely that the former cricket star will be declared ineligible. The process has already been used several times in the past to eliminate political adversaries.
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