Arrest of Imran Khan

On 9 May 2023, former Pakistani Prime Minister and politician Imran Khan was arrested from inside the High Court in Islamabad by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the charges of corruption in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust, which he owns alongside his wife, Bushra Bibi.

The arrest came a day after the military through its media wing ISPR had responded negatively to Khan's accusations of a high-ranking ISI official being implicated in an assassination attempt on his life the previous year. ISPR declared Khan's arrest to be legal; however, the following day, the Supreme Court of Pakistan deemed the arrest unlawful and mandated Khan's immediate release.

The next day on 12 May, Islamabad High Court granted two weeks bail to Khan. Shortly upon his release, Khan directly accused the army chief Asim Munir of playing a role in his arrest.

Attempts to arrest Khan led to protests by his supporters throughout the country.

Background
In 2018, Imran Khan became the prime minister of Pakistan, but later had a falling-out with the country's army. Following a series of defections, he lost his parliamentary majority. Subsequently, Khan was ousted through a vote of no confidence, and he accused the then Chief of Army Staff, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, of orchestrating the move. Khan developed a sense of resentment towards the army's influence, alleging that they engaged in blackmail against his government. Numerous lawsuits and criminal cases have been filed against him ever since he was removed from office in April 2022. Khan asserts that he is confronted with over 150 legal cases. Khan maintains that the accusations against him are politically driven and denies any misconduct.

Khan has advocated for early elections and has been a vociferous critic of the nation's leadership, institutions and army. However, in October 2022, he was disqualified from holding public office due to allegations of incorrectly declaring details of presents from foreign dignitaries and the sale of the proceeds. The following month, he survived a gun attack on his convoy while leading a protest march. Following the attack, Khan made the accusation that Maj Gen Faisal Naseer, an ISI officer, played a key role in both devising and overseeing the plan for his assassination.

On 7 May 2023, during a rally Khan repeated accusations that he had made earlier against a senior intelligence officer of ISI, Maj Gen. Faisal Naseer, of orchestrating plans to murder him. During the rally, Khan also claimed the same officer was also responsible for the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif.

The next day, ISPR said “irresponsible and baseless allegations by Khan against a serving senior military officer without evidence were “extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable”.

Arrest
On 9 May 2023, Khan, before departing for Islamabad to attend the hearings of his bail application at the Islamabad High Court, reiterated his claim that a senior ISI officer was involved in a plot to assassinate him and emphatically stated, "This is my army and my Pakistan. I don’t need to lie." reaffirming the seriousness of his accusation.

During Khan's court appearance in Islamabad High Court, while he was in the process of submitting his biometric data, paramilitary forces of Pakistan Rangers forcibly entered by breaking a window to apprehend him. Video footage depicted numerous security officers of Pakistan Rangers grabbed Khan out of the courtroom and subsequently placing him inside a black Toyota Hilux Vigo.

After being granted bail, Khan said that he had experienced physical mistreatment, including being subjected to physical force and struck with a baton on his head during his arrest. Talking to media, he further said “I am sitting in the Islamabad High Court. They had no justification to arrest me. I was abducted. This happens only where there is a law of the jungle and where the Army abducts [people]. Where is the law? Where are the police? It seems that martial law has been declared [in the country].”

Aftermath
The same day as the arrest, protests broke out across the country, including in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar, resulting in eight fatalities. Protests witnessed the participation of families of currently serving army officers as well.

Protesters in Islamabad blocked one of the main highways in and out of the capital. People also lit fires, dismantled street signs and threw stones. No police or officials were in the area during the hour-long blockade. Protesters in Peshawar also set fire to the Radio Pakistan premises. In London, supporters of Imran Khan demonstrated outside the High Commission of Pakistan following his arrest.

The interior ministry ordered the suspension of mobile broadband services throughout the country, as demonstrations intensified and were staged outside army facilities. Independent monitors reported that there was restricted access to social media platforms, including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, and total internet shutdowns in some regions. The internet services were restored late on 12 May 2023.

According to the police, 9,000 PTI supporters and members were apprehended. An Islamabad court later ruled that Khan's arrest was legal.

Between 10-12 May, police detained key leading members of Khan's political party. These included former federal ministers Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ali Muhammad Khan, and Shireen Mazari.

On 9 May, the KSE 100 Index saw a decrease of 455.68 points or 1.09% and settled at 41,373.81 level. On 10 May, the Pakistani rupee fell 1.3% to a record low of 288.5 against the U.S. dollar.

As of 11 May, a minimum of 8 individuals lost their lives, while over 290 sustained injuries, and more than 1,900 party supporters were detained. In an effort to address the escalating situation, the army was deployed in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad the same day.

Protests against the military
The protests predominantly targeted the army and the extent of such widespread unrest, involving the vandalization of military properties and installations, is a rare occurrence in Pakistan. Repeatedly, protesters stormed the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army in Rawalpindi as well the corps commander’s house in Lahore, which was set on fire. During the protests, there were attempts made by the demonstrators to vandalize the headquarters of the ISI. In response, the army resorted to the use of firearms to disperse the protesters.

The military, through its media wing ISPR, maintained that Khan's arrest was legal and in accordance with the law. They also promptly criticized the protesters, referring to it as a "black day" and stating that no one should take the law into their own hands and that anyone found violating it will be dealt with strictly. In response, Fawad Chaudhry said that the issue of "legality" of Khan's arrest is not for the ISPR to decide and PTI refuted any association with the recent acts of violence that occurred during the protests.

According to reports, several high-ranking Army commanders, notably including Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Lt Gen Salman Fayyaz Ghanni (IV Corps Lahore), Lt Gen Sardar Hassan Azhar Hayat (XI Corps Peshawar), and Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor (XII Corps Quetta), have expressed their concerns regarding the operation and subsequently declined to follow orders that involved the use of force against the protesters. In addition, Chief of Air Staff Zaheer Ahmad Babar and Chief of Naval Staff Amjad Khan Niazi have voiced their opposition towards Asim Munir, further contributing to the division within the senior military leadership.

On 12 May, Lahore Corps Commander Lt Gen Salman Ghani was removed. However ISPR rejected news that any top ranking army officials have resigned. Based on leaked audio messages from a relative of Lt Gen Salman, it is implied that Lt Gen Salman expressed opposition to the policy of the army chief Gen. Asim Munir particularly regarding the confrontational approach towards Imran Khan.

Release
On 11 May, Pakistan's Supreme Court declared that the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan was illegal. The court ordered that Khan be released immediately after his legal team contended that his detention was unlawful.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that the arrest of Khan at the Islamabad High Court by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) using paramilitary troops was in violation of the law, and that such actions would have a “chilling effect”.

Bandial stated: "Your arrest was invalid, and therefore, the entire process needs to be reversed." He noted: "What dignity remains of the court if 90 people entered its premises? How can any individual be arrested from court premises?"

Imran Khan was instructed by the Supreme Court to appear before the Islamabad High Court on 12 May. On 12 May, Islamabad High Court granted two weeks bail to Khan ensuring that he cannot be re-arrested on the specified charges. Additionally, the court has issued an order stating that he cannot be arrested on any charges filed till one week. Despite these rulings, the corruption charges against Mr. Khan remain in effect.

In his initial public remarks following his detention, Khan said that the "military abducted" him and he explicitly implicated the army chief Asim Munir as the individual responsible for his arrest, saying that “There is only one man taking action against me and that is the army chief." It is noteworthy to mention that the rapport between Khan and the present army chief, Gen Asim Munir, is widely perceived as strained following Munir's dismissal as Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence by Khan during the latter's tenure as prime minister in 2019.

In his first news conference after release on 13 May, Khan strongly criticized the military's involvement in politics and recommended that it establish a separate political entity. In a strong rebuke of the treatment received by his party leaders and workers at the hands of the military, Khan highlighted parallels between the current crackdown and the events that transpired in East Pakistan leading to the country's division, cautioning that such actions could potentially result in severe ramifications.

On May 15, a Special Corps Commanders Conference was held at GHQ, presided over by General Munir. During the conference, General Munir expressed a strong determination to ensure that individuals responsible for committing serious offenses against military installations, personnel, and equipment face legal consequences. He emphasized that such individuals including Imran Khan would be held accountable through trials conducted under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act.

Reactions
Khan was initially held at an unidentified location in jail despite the protests and critiques. The United States and United Kingdom called for democracy and the rule of law to be respected.

Release reactions
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, expressed his disapproval of the Supreme Court's decision to release Khan in a cabinet speech broadcast on state television. He claimed that the judges had shown favoritism towards Khan, resulting in "the demise of justice in Pakistan." Additionally, he criticized Khan and his party for using inflammatory language and inciting protests. Shahbaz Sharif stated, "Imran Khan has created divisions within the nation."

The interior minister, Rana Sanaullah, said in the event that the Islamabad High Court grant bail to Khan. "We will try to get his bail nullified. And if he is given bail in some cases and some cases are still left, we will definitely arrest him."

In his social media posts, Zalmay Khalilzad expressed the opinion that "Army Chief Munir needs to resign, and elections must be posted for a specific date." He added "General Munir has mishandled his job and alienated the public. He also has lost the support of many senior Pakistanis."

Analysis
Concerns about the way in which Khan was arrested have led some political commentators, lawyers, and journalists to criticize the arrest. In particular lawyers have observed that the arrest was carried out by a paramilitary force and on this basis have questioned its legality, though an Islamabad court has termed the arrest legal.

In his column, Indian journalist Praveen Swami noted that a unique occurrence took place in Pakistan, where the action taken against a political leader sparked an unexpected, spontaneous uprising, referred to as a mini-intifada, directed at the military establishment. Swami further emphasized that a considerable number of fervent supporters of the PTI, including individuals from military backgrounds, expressed their protest against the arrest of Khan. And in response to the potentially volatile situation, the military intelligently decided to withdraw its guards, thus averting the feared bloodshed that could have potentially caused divisions within its own ranks.

A well known military analyst Ayesha Siddiqa wrote that it is an extraordinary occurrence for a civilian leader such as Khan, who was nurtured by the politically powerful Pakistan Army, to display such tenacity and resilience and that the Al-Qadir Trust case marks the start of a military plan to detain Khan until he surrenders.

Historian Ayesha Jalal wrote that it is important to highlight that Khan's arrest was carried out by the Pakistan Rangers instead of the police. The involvement of the Rangers suggests the potential backing or, at the very least, the implicit approval of the military establishment regarding the arrest. Consequently, this has resulted in negative public perception for the Pakistani government, as many individuals within Pakistan may perceive it as a manifestation of political harassment.