ISLAMABAD — Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan’s standard opposition chief, is now an inmate at a high-security jail after being convicted of corruption and sentenced to a few years.
It is essentially the most dramatic twist but in months of political and authorized wrangling between Khan and his political rivals since he was toppled in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Khan’s celebration mentioned it can enchantment what authorities critics describe as a flimsy case, geared toward eradicating the previous cricket star from politics forward of a normal election meant to be held this fall. The federal government defended the conviction as lawful and denied that Khan is a sufferer of political persecution.
If the conviction stands, the 70-year-old Khan could be prohibited by regulation from working for workplace or main Pakistan Tehreek e-Insaf, the celebration he based within the Nineteen Nineties. Nevertheless, polls point out a powerful election displaying for PTI, and Khan’s imprisonment might additional enhance its standing.
WHAT WAS THE CASE AGAINST HIM?
An Islamabad court docket dominated Saturday that Khan did not report revenue from presents he obtained from international dignitaries and heads of state whereas he was in energy. In Pakistan, authorities leaders are allowed to maintain such presents after leaving energy, in trade for paying a portion of the worth for them.
The court docket mentioned Khan bought a few of these presents and did not state these earnings in a report final yr to Pakistan’s election fee. The court docket convicted Khan of corruption, handed down a three-year sentence and fined him 100,000 rupees, or roughly $350.
Shortly after the decision, Khan was detained at his house within the japanese metropolis of Lahore and brought to a high-security lockup within the city of Attock, about an hour’s drive from the capital of Islamabad.
WHAT OTHER CASES ARE PENDING AGAINST KHAN?
Since Khan’s ouster, greater than 150 circumstances have been filed towards him by varied authorities businesses on prices starting from contempt of court docket to terrorism and inciting violence.
Critics say this flurry of authorized filings is a part of an try by the governing coalition to sideline Khan, who as opposition chief has been in a position to mobilize big crowds of loyal supporters.
The federal government, in flip, portrays Khan as a corrupt trickster who has employed authorized maneuvers to remain out of jail. The federal government has backers in Pakistan’s highly effective army, which has managed the nation for a lot of its 75-year historical past.
HOW IS THIS ARREST DIFFERENT?
Khan is being held in Attock, a infamous lockup for convicted militants and violent criminals. Officers conversant in circumstances there mentioned he has his personal cell with a fan and separate bathing amenities, a step up from the jail’s usually harsh circumstances. The officers spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t allowed to temporary the media.
That is in marked distinction to Khan’s temporary detention in Could, after he was dragged from a court docket listening to on a distinct set of corruption prices by anti-graft officers. The Supreme Court docket intervened swiftly, declaring the detention unlawful. Khan was allowed to remain at a visitor home in a police compound and will obtain guests whereas the authorized arguments over his detention performed out. Khan ultimately returned to Labore, the place his automobile was showered with rose petals.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The Supreme Court docket might overturn Khan’s conviction and sentence on enchantment — an consequence that political analyst Imtiaz Gul believes is probably going.
“There was completely no strong case towards Imran Khan, who needed to face this conviction due to a technical mistake,” mentioned Gul, who heads the Middle for Analysis and Safety Research, an Islamabad-based suppose tank.
Info Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb claimed in a press release defending the conviction that assist for Khan is eroding.
“He might deceive a couple of naive, gullible supporters, however most of the people now acknowledges his true nature,” she wrote. “His pretense has been stripped away, revealing the face of a person who evaded the regulation, exploited state presents for trivial earnings.”
If Khan’s conviction stands, he will not have the ability to lead his celebration into an election as a result of these with prison convictions are barred from working for workplace. However even from behind bars, he might wield important political affect.
After his detention in Could, his supporters demonstrated their capacity to disrupt public life. Tens of hundreds of Khan loyalists rampaged by cities, a few of them destroying army and authorities property. The federal government cracked down, detaining greater than 7,000, with some prosecutions nonetheless ongoing.
By comparability, the response to Khan’s arrest this weekend was far more muted, probably due to fears of one other crackdown. His requires peaceable protests failed to evoke widespread assist.
WHAT IS THE POLITICAL FALLOUT?
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is more likely to dissolve parliament within the coming weeks, probably paving the way in which for elections by mid-November. The federal government might delay the vote by a number of months if it decides to redraw constituencies based mostly on current census outcomes.
Khan’s imprisonment might win him and his celebration larger electoral assist. It could additionally feed into the political persona he created after shedding energy — that of a fearless campaigner for Pakistan’s deprived.
“The subsequent elections are more likely to be held with out lively participation of Imran Khan, however even from jail, he has the potential to successfully run a marketing campaign for his candidates,” mentioned political analyst Azim Chaudhry.