Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, which sparked violent protests by his supporters across the country.
The justice ordered that he remain for the night in his custody, instructing the police to ensure his safety, before a new appearance Friday before a court in Islamabad.
“Your arrest is invalid and the whole process needs to be reviewed,” said Umar Ata Bandial, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, who was considering an appeal filed by Mr Khan’s lawyers against his arrest on Tuesday in a corruption case. “From now on, no arrest should take place on the premises of a court”, justified Judge Bandial.
Mr Khan, 70, who was ousted in April 2022 but hopes to return to power quickly, was arrested while responding to a court summons in the case. “I was treated like a terrorist,” he was indignant before the Supreme Court. However, he is not immune to a new arrest for this case – or the many others in which he is implicated.
“We will arrest him again”, immediately promised the Minister of the Interior, Rana Sanaullah, on a local channel.
Small groups of Mr Khan’s supporters celebrated the court’s announcement in the streets and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), called on them to gather in Lahore.
A worsening crisis
The culmination of months of crisis which saw the former star cricketer increasingly openly defy the all-powerful army, his arrest has sparked rage among PTI supporters. Thousands of them took to the streets, burning or damaging public buildings.
Rarely in Pakistan, they attacked symbols of military power, accusing the army of having contributed to the ousting of Mr. Khan from power, which the latter disputes.
At least nine people have died in incidents linked to these demonstrations, which were violently repressed by the security forces. Hundreds of police were injured and more than 2,000 protesters were arrested, mostly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, police said. At least eight senior PTI officials, accused of orchestrating the violence, have also been detained.
The government had given the green light on Wednesday to send soldiers to the capital and two provinces, including that of Punjab, the most populous in Pakistan, to restore calm. Islamabad police said on Thursday that troops had been positioned overnight in the capital’s “red zone”, which houses key government institutions.
Authorities have cut off mobile internet, restricted access to social networks such as Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, and ordered the closure of schools across the country.
“People should demonstrate, but that doesn’t mean besieging, burning or damaging government properties, or attacking the poor by burning their cars or motorbikes,” said Peshawar resident Syed Muzaffar Shah. .
Mr Khan’s arrest marked a dramatic worsening of a crisis caused by his overthrow. He was dismissed by a motion of no confidence after losing the support of the army, which had backed him up when he came to power in 2018.
Mr. Khan then multiplied political maneuvers to obtain the holding of early elections before the October deadline, in a country in the grip of a serious economic crisis. He also launched into increasingly virulent diatribes against his successor, Shehbaz Sharif, and the military establishment.
The power of the army
The military wields considerable political influence in Pakistan. It has staged at least three coups since independence in 1947 and held power for more than three decades. But direct criticisms against him are rare: they are considered a red line not to be crossed, at the risk of ending up in the sights of the security apparatus.
Mr Khan is the subject of dozens of court cases, which he denounces as an attempt by the government and the army to prevent his return to power.
In this context, the Supreme Court’s decision “appears as only a respite, probably as part of the efforts to control a situation that has become explosive and reduce tensions”, analyst Imtiaz Gul told AFP.
His arrest came shortly after he renewed his charges over the weekend against a senior military officer whom he blames for plotting to assassinate him in November at a campaign rally where he had been shot in the leg. He did not provide any evidence for his allegations, which were denounced as “fabricated and malicious” by the army.
On Wednesday, the latter warned that it had so far held to “extreme restraint”: it threatened a “strong reaction” to anyone attacking military and government installations.
