Pakistan: Clashes as Police Try to Arrest Ex-PM Imran Khan

Facts

• Khan is accused of buying expensive gifts, including a Graff wristwatch, as prime minister at discounted prices from the state depository and selling them for profit.¹
• From inside his house, the 70-year-old former head of state — who maintains the allegations against him are politically motivated ahead of this year's elections — posted a video to Twitter urging his supporters to fight for 'real freedom' if he's arrested.²
• This comes after Pakistan's election commission found Khan guilty of unlawfully selling gifts from foreign dignitaries that he received as prime minister. He has since reportedly skipped multiple court summons, after which charges were filed, and the court issued an arrest warrant last week.³
• Khan — ousted in April after losing a vote of confidence— has also been accused of terrorism for allegedly threatening a judge in a speech last year, with a second warrant for his arrest issued on Monday.¹

Sources: ¹The hindu, ²Al Jazeera and ³India today.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Dawn.com. Imran Khan has been politically targeted for some time now, and the police have only ramped up their tactics to break the will of the PTI and its supporters. The party has told the government that Khan's lawyers are ready to discuss the charges against their client, but it seems the police have been ordered to use violence instead of dialogue. This looks more and more like a coup every day, but the Pakistani people can see right through the incumbent regime's lies.
• Narrative B, as provided by Firstpost. Imran Khan has repeatedly dodged lawfully executed arrest warrants and continues to not only defy police authority himself but encourage his supporters to physically block them from conducting their duty. What Khan has persuaded his followers to do is shameful for his party and the country, and it's past time that he surrenders to authorities and lets the legal process play out.