Protests broke out all throughout Pakistan in response to the former prime minister’s arrest this week in connection with a corruption investigation.
Imran Khan, a former prime minister of Pakistan, exiting the courtroom in Lahore in March.Credit: Agence France-Presse/Aamir Qureshi/Getty Images
A big victory for the former leader who was detained this week as part of a corruption investigation, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered Imran Khan’s release from detention on Thursday, heightening the political turmoil that has gripped the nation.
The court ruled that Mr. Khan had been wrongfully detained by the authorities. On Thursday morning, his solicitors had contested the validity of the arrest in court and asked for his release.
The court’s ruling is a big political and legal victory for Mr. Khan, whose fans have descended in droves on the streets ever since his Tuesday arrest. Additionally, it opens the door for a confrontation between Pakistan’s military, largely believed to be the primary motivation behind his arrest, and the Supreme Court.
Former international cricketer turned populist politician Mr. Khan was detained in connection with allegations of corruption concerning the sale of real estate, which he vigorously rejects. Thousands of his supporters rallied to his defence, attacked military sites, and engaged in violent rallies against his confinement as soon as he was arrested.
The public’s direct conflicts with Pakistan’s mighty military, which has long served as the shadowy force that controls the government, were unlike anything the nation has seen recently.
Since Mr. Khan was removed from office as prime minister in a vote of no confidence in April of last year, tensions between him and military commanders have risen. His political events, where he demanded that Pakistan have early general elections, have drawn thousands of supporters in recent months. In order to act as his personal bodyguards, supporters have also set up camp outside his home in Lahore, the second-largest city in the nation.
Numerous corruption-related allegations against Mr. Khan are being brought against him, and he and his supporters claim that this is an attempt by the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the military to keep him out of politics by abusing the legal system.
A top Pakistani military intelligence officer is allegedly responsible for the attack that wounded Mr. Khan in November. Mr. Khan has galvanised his followers around suspicions that the military planned his overthrow during the previous year.The claims were sharply refuted by military officials on Monday, and the next day he was taken into custody. Soon after, demonstrators swarmed the streets, torching and ransacking military facilities all around the nation. These violent acts were previously unthinkable in a society where few people dared to directly oppose the military.
In response, the government cut off telephone and internet service in the majority of Pakistan, sent troops into at least two provinces, and detained more than 3,000 demonstrators. More than a dozen influential members of Mr. Khan’s political party were also detained by the authorities, including Fawad Chaudhry, a close associate and former communications minister.
Late on Wednesday, a statement from the military’s media wing promised a prompt and “severe” response to protestors who stormed military sites.The statement added, “Strict action will be taken against the facilitators, planners, and political rioters involved in these activities.” “No one can be permitted to incite people and give them the power to enforce the law.”
