CNN
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Pakistan is reeling after former prime minister Imran Khan was dramatically arrested by paramilitary troops on corruption charges, sparking an explosion of deadly anger against the powerful military that has put the country on edge.
The unrest has spread to several major cities, leading to unprecedented scenes of defiant mobs breaking into military properties and setting fire to the homes of army personnel, directly challenging a generally untouchable force that has long been sitting at the pinnacle of power in Pakistan.
Since gaining independence in 1947, Pakistan has struggled with political instability, regime changes and coups, with the military playing a historically decisive role in who stays in power.
The army has accused Khan and his supporters of crossing a red line, saying that military property and installations have been “systematically attacked” and that “anti-army slogans were raised”.
“Any further attacks on the military, including all law enforcement agencies, military and state installations and properties, will be severely retaliated against,” the military said in a statement on Wednesday, the first since the arrest by Khan
“The full responsibility will be on the same group that wants to push Pakistan into civil war.”
Police said they have arrested six senior politicians from Khan’s party for “inciting arson and violent protests”, adding that more arrests are expected soon.
The crisis comes as the nation of 220 million people faces an acute economic crisis as rising inflation leaves people unable to pay for food and fuel, raising fears about the country’s stability in the which is an election year for Pakistan.
Khan has consistently claimed in interviews that the attempts to arrest him are meant to ensure he is out of the race. The government has denied these claims.
Here’s what you need to know.
Khan was arrested on May 9 by paramilitary troops in a surprise operation that saw officers enter a court in the capital Islamabad to arrest him on multiple corruption charges.
He is accused of illegally acquiring land to build a university and has been placed in “preventive detention” for eight days, his lawyer told CNN.
Khan has also been charged in a separate case with illegally selling gifts sent to him by foreign leaders while in office.
In a pre-recorded statement on YouTube by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party after his arrest, the former prime minister said he was “arrested on wrong charges” and told his supporters that ” the time has come for all of you to come and fight for your rights”.
Khan’s arrest sparked what was already a tense standoff between the army and Khan’s supporters which had been boiling for months.
The largest protests took place in the cities of Lahore and Peshawar, both political strongholds of Khan, and saw crowds clash with security forces.
Hundreds of protesters stormed the headquarters of national broadcaster Radio Pakistan in Peshawar, setting the building on fire.
At least eight People have died in the clashes and more than 300 have been injured, according to the authorities. More than 650 people have been detained in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a government official who asked not to be named told CNN on Thursday.
Police said nearly 1,000 Khan supporters had been arrested in the country’s most populous Punjab province, according to Reuters.
Private schools were ordered closed across the country, and some countries, including the United States, issued travel advisories. The government blocked mobile internet services in an attempt to quell the chaos, cutting off access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Popular apps and digital payment systems have also been disrupted.
Authorities in three of the country’s four provinces have imposed an emergency order banning all gatherings. The army has been called to Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to provide security assistance.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called Khan’s supporters “terrorists” and told them to “behave or face punishment”.
Arguably Pakistan’s best-known prime minister in recent decades, Khan has made a name for himself as a politician, philanthropist and sports superstar both at home and around the world.
Born in 1952 in the city of Lahore, he received a prestigious education, completed with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Oxford. He became one of the best cricketers of his generation, leading the Pakistan team to victory in the 1992 World Cup.
Enraged by the ongoing state of corruption in a country historically led by powerful dynasties, he set his sights on politics and founded his own political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), in 1996.
The party mostly languished in the political wilderness until 2013, with a flood of new voters attracted by Khan’s promise to end corruption and economic woes. The PTI advanced to the general elections that year, although it failed to win a majority.
In 2018, with the support of the military, Khan was elected prime minister, promising a “new Pakistan”, vowing to eradicate poverty and corruption.
His unique brand of Islamic populism won him the support of a young population in a country where anti-American and anti-establishment sentiments are common.
But his relationship with the generals soured and things changed last year when Khan was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote over claims of financial mismanagement.
The impeachment outraged his supporters, sparking mass protests as Khan increasingly spoke out publicly against the military’s role in politics.
Last November, Khan survived a shooting at a political rally, in what his party called an assassination attempt.
Acting on corruption charges, police and paramilitary troops had tried to arrest Khan several times in recent months, with one operation this March ending in chaos when his supporters defied authorities outside his home.
And the political upheaval seems to have only strengthened Khan’s popularity. Last year, his PTI party won local elections in the country’s most populous Punjab province, seen as a comeback test for national elections.
Since Khan’s ouster, tens of thousands of his supporters have taken to the streets in key cities across Pakistan to protest, chanting slogans against the Pakistani military.
Considered a formidable force in the country, the military has intervened in Pakistan’s politics several times in history, sometimes running the country directly.
And while political leaders have sometimes challenged his rule in the past, analysts say the current situation is different because of who Khan’s supporters are.
It is “unique” that Khan has “gained significant public support from the urban middle class, a group that has traditionally not been involved in challenging the military’s role in politics,” said Syed Baqir Sajjad, Pakistan Fellow at the Wilson Center of Washington. .
“This has increased the pressure on the military establishment, which is feeling more of the heat this time,” he said.
Khan has repeatedly accused the military of conspiring with Sharif to remove him from office, even calling a senior official by name and accusing him of being behind the shooting that injured him in November.
Following Khan’s claims, his supporters have directed their anger at the military, fervently using social media to spread anti-establishment messages.
“The intensity and consistency of Imran Khan’s attacks on the military, especially after he was removed from office last year, is unprecedented,” Sajjad said.
“It remains to be seen how this conflict will play out in the long term, but it is clear that the relationship between the military and civilian government in Pakistan has always been fragile, with power struggles often erupting into open conflict.”
The situation on the ground remains tense with Khan in prison and no clear way out of the crisis for now.
All this, Sajjad said, puts Pakistan in a precarious position and raises concerns about “the stability of the country”.
“The possibility of the military establishment imposing (a state of) emergency on the country and keeping former prime minister Imran Khan behind bars for a prolonged time is quite high, because none of the political actors are strong enough to raise a serious challenge for Khan’s PTI in the polls,” he said.
“No situation is expected to drastically alter the ground situation in favor of the incumbent government. In the meantime, the army cannot afford Khan’s return to power.”
However, he adds that it is “crucial to point out” that this move would have “serious consequences” for the country’s democratic institutions.
“The imposition of a state of emergency would likely result in the suspension of civil liberties, the suppression of political dissent and the curtailment of press freedom,” he said. “This, in turn, could lead to further unrest and instability, making it difficult for Pakistan to attract foreign investment and sustain its economic growth.”
