Anti-government protests have rocked Pakistan, yet again! Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi have been staging protests across the South Asian nation for the past few months, demanding release of the cricketer-turned-politician from prison.

Reports suggest that Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party is making preparations to take to the streets of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. The PTI recently organised a mass rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province to mark the anniversary of Khan’s imprisonment. More than 10,000 supporters of Khan were seen waving party flags and chanting slogans in Swabi (a city located near the bank of the Indus River), demanding immediate release of their leader from that rally and other such demonstrations. The top PTI leadership warned of intensifying the Anti-Government Movement!

Addressing the rally, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur emphasised upon the importance of true independence, urging the nation not to bow down to any (internal or external) power. Main objective of the rally was to release Khan by increasing pressure on the Government of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. PTI leaders are trying hard to create public opinion against the Shehbaz Sharif Administration by taking supporters to the streets. It seems that Pakistan is all set to become the next Bangladesh!

Former Prime Minister Khan is imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. It may be noted that the PTI was denied the right by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to contest the Parliamentary Elections earlier in 2024 under its electoral symbol (a cricket bat) due to electoral law violations. Consequently, PTI candidates had to run as independents, yet they surprised observers by winning 93 seats in the National Assembly (more than any other party), as Khan led them from the prison. Later, the Supreme Court handed a major legal victory to the PTI, declaring it eligible for a share of reserved seats in National and Provincial Assemblies. The judgement, announced by a 13-member bench in an eight-five ruling, dealt a significant setback to the Shehbaz Sharif Government.

Following this, the Government of Pakistan announced that the PTI would be banned for alleged involvement in anti-state activities! Attaullah Tarar, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan, claimed that the Government found concrete evidence against the PTI in various cases, including irregular acceptance of foreign donations, direct support to violence and leakage of important secret information of the country. However, the PTI rejected all these allegations, saying that the Government of Shehbaz Sharif wanted to take a political vendetta.

Khan was arrested on charges of corruption on August 5, 2023. Since then, he has been under strict security in Adiala Jail. About 200 cases have been filed against Khan and he has been convicted in several cases, too. The PTI reportedly claimed that Khan was being served poor quality food in jail. Interestingly, Bushra Bibi, the wife of Khan, made the same complaint. The 71-year-old Khan told a British daily earlier in 2024 that he was “caged like a terrorist” in a death cell, triggering an uproar in the country! However, the Government of Pakistan denied the claim, stressing that Khan was being confined in a presidential suite. According to the Government, it spends PKR 1.2 million per month for Khan’s security!

Political analysts have opined that Pakistan has plunged into crisis as anti-Government protestors converged on various cities to demand the release of Khan from the prison. This protest movement marks the latest in a series of Anti-Government Movements Pakistan has experienced in recent times. Analysts believe that the failure of the Shehbaz Sharif Administration to rescue the economy (of Pakistan) has worsened the situation.

It is hence viewed as a possibility that the people of Pakistan shall overthrow the Government with the help of the Army in near future!

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das