A mass of protesters entering the gates of the national army headquarters. An angry mob sets fire to the residence of a senior military officer. Protesters looting a school run by a paramilitary force.
The previously unthinkable scenes of violent protest that erupted across Pakistan on Tuesday following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan appeared to cross a line against defying the military that has rarely been broken in its turbulent history. from Pakistan. Since the country’s founding 75 years ago, the military has maintained constant control over the country’s politics and foreign policy, carrying out three successful coups and ruling the country directly for several decades.
Even under civilian governments, military leaders have maintained an iron (if covert) grip on power, ushering in politicians they favored and expelling those who strayed. Few dared to make an open challenge.
When politicians or other civilians complained, it was almost always in code, vaguely referring to “the establishment” or “the sacred cow,” rather than explicitly calling out the country’s military or its powerful intelligence agency. between services They knew what could happen if they went further: disappearances, arrests, lives in exile.
Then came Imran Khan, a former global cricket star turned populist politician and once a fixture among London’s fashionable crowd, who had languished on the sidelines of Pakistani politics for more than two decades since retiring from the sport
Mr. Khan brought power to the streets, promising to address the country’s deep economic problems and end its endemic corruption, while offering an alternative to the country’s entrenched political dynasties. The military was accused at the time of paving the way to power for Mr Khan in 2018, pressuring his opponents to withdraw or switch sides and cowing the media.
But relations soured after he was ousted as prime minister in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022, with Mr. Khan vehemently criticizing the generals, accusing them of conspiring against him and his political movement.
For months, Khan had called a top Pakistani military intelligence general by name, accusing the commander of being behind a shooting that wounded him in November. And he had skipped court appearances for a slew of corruption cases filed against him, almost daring the authorities to arrest him. His supporters followed suit, using social media to disparage the military and accuse them of subverting democracy.
On Tuesday, it seemed the authorities had had enough, and they arrested Mr. Khan in a clear attempt to reassert control.
If the arrest was in many ways a return to the old order of Pakistani politics, the reaction was anything but. As Mr Khan was taken away, his supporters erupted across the country in protests targeting military installations, urged by his warning to fight back. The crowds channeled both anger that had been building since Khan was ousted from office and frustration over a severe economic crisis, in which record inflation has driven up the price of basic goods.
Demonstrations continued in major cities on Wednesday, deepening the unrest and prompting the army to deploy units in at least two provinces. In some places, protesters fought fiercely against security forces, who fired tear gas canisters and brandished batons in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
Many officials fear the prolonged protests could bring the country to a standstill and that the government led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif may struggle to contain them. Protesters’ attacks on military structures also caused damage to the army’s reputation that will not be. undo easily
“This has become a perfect political storm with very unpredictable consequences,” said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and Britain. “In the past, the army acted as an arbiter of political disputes. Today, the country has no institution that can play this role.”
On Wednesday, Mr Khan appeared in a police headquarters-turned-courtroom in the capital, Islamabad, where a court had authorized authorities to detain him for eight days in connection with a corruption case involving the transfer of assets real estate Khan denied the charges and expressed concern for his safety while in custody, local media reported.
Separately, Mr. Khan was also charged in another way case for illegally selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister.
At least five people have been killed in protests since Tuesday, local media reported, and more than 1,000 people have been arrested in Punjab province alone. Authorities also shut down the Internet in parts of the country in an attempt to quell the unrest.
But the crackdown has done little to deter the protesters, and the army, under a new army chief, General Syed Asim Munir, is in a precarious position.
As Mr Khan has cultivated deep support in the army’s ranks, the escalating crackdown could cause a rift that further destabilizes an institution already facing one of its worst crises since 2007 , when the last military leader to take power, General Pervez Musharraf resigned amid public outcry.
Given the tensions in the army, General Munir “may be under pressure from within the army, perhaps some senior generals, to back down, go off the ramp and reconcile” with the Mr. Khan, said Asfandyar Mir, senior army expert. United States Institute of Peace.
A harsh crackdown on protesters also risks further eroding popular support for the military, which had endured for decades. despite the generals’ insistence on shaping the country’s politics.
Many Pakistanis still see the military as a moderating force that helps keep corrupt political dynasties in line. Soldiers have been on the front lines of relief after devastating floods and other disasters, and in suppressing terrorist campaigns by the Pakistani Taliban in 2014 and 2017.
This popularity remained for years after the rise of Mr. Khan to Prime Minister. But when Mr. Khan was removed from power in April by Parliament, again with the perception of a military green light to remove him, after he had begun to antagonize the generals.
The criticisms of Mr. Khan in the army since then resonated even beyond his existing base of support, and voters rewarded his party with major victories in elections for vacant parliamentary seats in several provinces. Khan has also called on the government to hold early general elections.
“It’s hard to see the situation going down from here,” Madiha Afzal, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, wrote in a text message. “Khan’s popular support has shielded him from the assertiveness of the establishment so far. But now that the establishment has asserted itself, it’s hard to see it backing down anytime soon.”
He added: “These are volatile and dangerous times for Pakistan.”
Salman Masood contributed to the report.
