Pakistan: Imran Khan Indicted on Bribery Charges

Facts

• Former Pakistani PM Imran Khan was indicted Wednesday for allegedly selling gifts given by foreign dignitaries from Pakistan’s gift depository without disclosing the assets to the Election Commission.¹
• The indictment is part of the "Toshakhana case," which refers to the state repository, and dates back to an August 2022 lawsuit filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. The lawsuit claims Khan and his wife retained 112 gifts from his tenure spanning August 2018 to December 2021.²
• Last October, the Election Commission of Pakistan found Khan guilty of selling the gifts and banned him from holding public office until the next election. Khan has denied all charges.³
• Wednesday’s indictment comes just one day after paramilitary troops arrested Khan in another corruption case accusing him of illegally transferring land on behalf of Al-Qadir University, sparking outrage amongst Khan’s supporters throughout Pakistan.⁴
• Khan’s lawyers say their client was placed on "physical remand" for eight days following the court hearing where he was "tortured and beaten all night." Videos showed troops breaking a window to capture the ex-Prime Minister and escorting him into a vehicle.⁵
• Protests continue to get out of control, with police having arrested 945 Khan supporters in the eastern part of his home province of Punjab. The government has also suspended internet service in Islamabad and other cities while vowing to crack down on unruly protesters.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²OpIndia, ³South China Morning Post, ⁴BBC News, ⁵CNN, and ⁶ Associated Press.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Vox. Khan has been mired in controversy and scandals for years, and the mounting evidence is too much to ignore. Khan has used his power to subvert democracy, including his attempt to dissolve parliament to escape the no-confidence vote that ousted him. Now, he's using his platform to bring Pakistan to the brink of civil war by urging his supporters to commit violence. Khan is a danger to Pakistan, and his corruption is finally being exposed.
• Narrative B, as provided by Middle East Eye. Democracy in Pakistan is dead, and Imran Khan is the sacrificial lamb. Though he's extremely popular amongst the Pakistani people, global powers, notably the US, want him removed from public life and disqualified at all costs because he refused to act as a puppet. Khan was first wrongly removed as Prime Minister in a coup, and now he is being arrested to make sure he can never represent the will of the people. This is a very sad day for all of Pakistan and democracy at large.