Imran Khan, the “Dark Harry” and the Pakistani military: “ISPR sahib”, a statement from the former prime minister
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s paramilitary forces arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan inside a courthouse in the capital Islamabad on Tuesday. The move has made politicians angry, at a time of economic distress.
Footage shared by the media team of the party headed by Khan showed khaki-clad men breaking a window with their batons to extricate the former prime minister, who was in a room designated to check biometric details.
Following Khan’s detention, roads clogged with panicking commuters who rushed to pick up children from school and leave work, fearing protesters would block roads. Islamabad police issued an order banning demonstrations, as did authorities in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province. Lahore is the seat of Khan’s power. In the past, Khan’s supporters have ignored those orders.
According to videos shared by Khan’s media team, the former prime minister’s supporters — mostly men, but also some women — appeared to overrun a gate leading into the compound of Pakistan’s military headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi. Shouting “Allah Akbar,” or God is great, they are seen in the videos using sticks to smash through the first gate that separates the compound from the road beyond.
His dramatic arrest when he was pulled out of a hearing on one set of charges to be arrested on another set was the most recent confrontation to roil Pakistan. He is the seventh prime minister to be taken into police custody in the country, which has seen interventions by the military over the years. The move comes at a time when the cash-strapped nation is trying to avoid a default.
After the statement was released against the former PM, the Pakistan’s military spokesman, Maj. Gen., warned him not to malign a serving officer.
Khan has been accusing a military intelligence official of being involved in a plot to kill him. Khan referred to him as “Dirty Harry” from a Clint Eastwood movie before he got to the court house.
“ISPR sahib,” he said in a Twitter statement, referring to the military spokesman, “when an institution takes action against black sheep, it improves its own credibility. An institution which catches corrupt people strengthens itself,” he said in comments first translated in the Pakistani daily Dawn. He added: “It is my army, my Pakistan not just yours. It is our army.”
Since then, a political crisis has arisen with Khan and his supporters frequently taking to the streets to demand elections. Their demand has grown louder since Khan’s party swept a series of by-elections last year, suggesting that it had only grown in power since the former prime minister’s ousting.
Pakistan’s military has repeatedly said that it does not like or trust Khan after working with him. It is ironic that the army aided Khan in his political career and helped pave the way for his victory in the elections of 2018, according to many analysts.
There are videos that Khan’s supporters have shared that show men smashing up a home that was claimed to be of a military official. Outside military compounds, supporters held demonstrations. NPR does not know if the videos are legit.
When Khan was arrested on Tuesday, he was appearing in a court on multiple corruption charges. After Khan’s guards refused to open the door when he showed up in court, dozens of agents from the accountability bureau storming the courtroom and breaking the windows.
The onset of the next few days in Pakistan: a thought tank on a knife’s edge with a view to the future
We are on a knife’s edge. Mosharraf Zaidi, a columnist who heads a think tank, says the next few hours and days are going to be crucial in determining the short-term prospects for stability.
There will be rising temperatures, potential conflict, hopefully limited pockets of violence, hopefully nothing too serious, but at this point a lot will depend on the leadership of Khan’s party.” says Zaidi.
“Ironically, for the instability and unpredictability of the moment, if you are a popular Pakistani politician, you end up in jail,” he says, “which is the predictability of Pakistan.”
Many people stayed at home as the violence spread. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad canceled all its Wednesday consular appointments following Khan’s arrest and issued a nationwide alert, telling Americans to review their personal security plans and avoid large crowds.
Rights group Amnesty International said it was alarmed by reports of Pakistani authorities blocking access to mobile internet networks and social media. The human rights organization said it was concerned by the likelihood of human rights violations as a result of the law enforcement andKhan’s supporters clashing.
The military has not commented on the attacks on its facilities. None of the leaders from Khan’s party denounced the attacks on the military, though they have appealed to their supporters to be peaceful.
The demonstrators tried to go to the prime minister’s residence but were stopped by the police. Still more attacked vehicles carrying troops and hit armed soldiers with sticks. So far, police and soldiers have not fired at protesters.
Mobs angered by the dramatic arrest set fire to the residence of a top army general in the eastern city of Lahore, and supporters attacked the military’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near the capital, Islamabad. The office of the army chief is located in the main building.
First court ruling on allegations of corruption against a property tycoon accused of accepting millions of dollars in exchange for a power-law salary
The National Accountability Bureau has detained and investigated former officials, including former prime ministers, politicians and retired military officers. But some view the bureau as a tool used by those in power, especially the military, to crack down on political opponents.
In the latest case, Khan has been accused of accepting millions of dollars worth of property in exchange for providing benefits to a property tycoon. The tribunal granted eight days, which was longer than the 14 day request by the National Accountability Bureau.
Police have arrested 945 Khan supporters in eastern Punjab province alone since Tuesday — including Asad Umar and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, two senior leaders from Khan’s party.
In eastern Punjab province the local government asked the army to intervene after 157 police officers were injured in clashes with Khan supporters.
The radio station building was damaged in a raid by supporters, said the police official Naeem Khan. Some employees were trapped inside and police were attempting to restore order.
Police deployed in force across the country, and placed shipping containers on a road leading to the sprawling police compound in Islamabad where Khan is being held.
The corruption and terrorism cases against Khan were a plot by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to keep him from returning to power in the upcoming elections which are to be held later this year. Khan has been campaigning against the other party.
A court ruled Wednesday that former Prime Minister Khan can be held for eight days after he was arrested on corruption charges.