Pakistan Court Allows Ex-PM Khan's Arrest Over Riots

Facts

• A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Wednesday allowed Pakistani authorities to interrogate and arrest former PM Imran Khan regarding an attack on an army building during protests that followed Khan’s brief arrest on corruption charges in May.¹
• Khan, who's already facing a three-year jail sentence following his conviction earlier this month in a separate case, has denied the charges against him, saying that the government seeks to prevent him from contesting upcoming national elections.¹
• On May 9, Khan's supporters attacked Lahore's Corps Commander's House, often called Jinnah House, as well as other civil and military installations, after Khan was arrested in a corruption case. Khan was later released on bail.²
• The inspector general of the police demanded action related to the case, seeking to interrogate and arrest the former PM, which the anti-terrorism court has now allowed.³
• Earlier this month, Khan was found guilty of concealing assets after selling state gifts he received while in office. Khan's legal team claimed the sentence was issued too quickly. The Islamabad High Court is due to resume hearings on Khan's appeal to the previous corruption charges on Friday.⁴
• Khan's legal troubles have generated much controversy, both within Pakistan and internationally. After Khan's conviction earlier this month, a classified document obtained by The Intercept that suggests the US State Department may have pressured the Pakistani government to remove Khan from office was published. The US denies that it intervened in Pakistan's internal politics.⁵

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²NDTV, ³India Today, ⁴Yahoo News, and ⁵DAWN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by IslamiCity. Khan's arrest is illegal and politically motivated. The accusations against him are completely fabricated, with his opponents pursuing 80 different cases against him — including completely baseless accusations of murder, sedition, blasphemy, and terrorism — in the hopes that something will stick. The government wants to remove Khan from the electoral contest because it fears his popularity among voters.
• Narrative B, as provided by GEO. The arrest of Imran Khan is not politically motivated; he is accused of theft and corruption. His denial of every accusation merely serves to demonstrate that he avoids accountability in every way. His case has been investigated thoroughly, and the verdict followed due process. With his sentence, Khan will be disqualified from politics for five years.