The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a “power show” in Islamabad on Sunday, demanding authorities release party founder Imran Khan within two weeks or risk the party taking matters into its own hands.
In a seeming validation of its threats, the rally saw PTI supporters pelting stones on police, who retaliated with tear-gas shelling to disperse the crowd. Sunday’s event came about after several false starts, as authorities granted and withdrew permission for it multiple times, and growing frustration within the PTI over Khan’s continued incarceration.
Detained since August 2023, Khan is currently under arrest in a Toshakhana reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after having secured acquittals or bails in previous convictions. While the PTI’s lawyers appear confident this case would soon be dismissed, the former prime minister’s potential freedom is complicated by the unprecedented arrest and ongoing court-martial proceeding against former ISI chief Lt. Gen. (retd.) Faiz Hmeed, widely seen as close to Khan both during his time as prime minister and after his ouster through a vote of no-confidence. Since the arrest, speculation has mounted that Khan could face a military trial for his alleged collusion with Hameed. While the matter has yet to move beyond rumors, the downfall of another Pakistani leader due to tensions with the Pakistan Army offers little surprise. In fact, most observers cite Khan’s refusal to accept Hameed’s transfer out of the ISI as the inciting event that ended the Army’s backing of the PTI.
Khan, however, has repeatedly alleged that the Army “supported” the vote of no-confidence that led to his ouster under pressure from Washington. The PTI founder has publicly claimed to be anti-American for much of his political career, relying on the track laid by other populist leaders of developing nations, who curry public support by alleging “corrupt” politicians have “sold” their country to the “imperialist” state. This behavior is hardly unique for Pakistan, but Khan took things further after his ouster, directly accusing the military establishment of supporting U.S. interests by betraying Pakistan’s own. Any chances of redeeming the situation were dashed, however, after the May 9, 2023 riots triggered by Khan’s arrest directly targeted military installations, ensuring backlash that persists to date.
While it remains too early to definitively claim that Khan could be placed in military custody over his alleged role in the May 9 riots, what is clear that he has yet to mend fences with the establishment. Unfortunately, if Pakistan’s history is any indication, failure to do so would ensure that his party will remain under pressure no matter how many “power shows” it organizes in the weeks and months to come.