Radical Islamists storm supreme court after Imran Khan is released
Pakistan remains on a knife edge as the former prime minister is released on bail and regional elections go ahead
BySamaan Lateef15 May 2023 • 3:03pm
Hundreds of radical Islamists with close ties to the ruling government in Pakistan attacked the Supreme Court after judges intervened to free the former prime minister Imran Khan.
Donning mustard uniforms and wielding sticks, the protesters scaled the entrance of the Red Zone in Islamabad, where the court is located, to demonstrate after Mr Khan’s arrest last week was deemed illegal.
Mr Khan was again in court on Monday facing more corruption charges, this time levelled at his wife too. He was released on bail until May 24.
Pakistan has been on a knife edge since Mr Khan was arrested, with thousands of his supporters taking to the streets, angry at the ruling government and closely entwined military establishment.
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan arrives amid fierce protection from supporters after an assassination attempt last year CREDIT: ARIF ALI/AFP
Imran Khan's security personnnel surround his car as he leaves court CREDIT: AFP/MURTAZA SYED
Following his initial arrest, Mr Khan was freed on a technicality by Supreme Court judges, angering authorities. In response to the court's decision, hundreds of radical Islamists, supported by the ruling government and military, attacked the Supreme Court in Islamabad on Monday.
Protesters from Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) broke into the high-security red zone apparently to threaten the judges. The protesters were joined by Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the chief organiser of the ruling party and daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
In a televised statement on Monday, defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif accused the Supreme Court of siding with Mr Khan. He suggested the court “examine the conduct of the chief justice” and take legal action against him.
Mr Khan claimed in a tweet on Monday that the sit-in was being orchestrated to remove the chief justice. The protest is a sign of escalating tensions between the judiciary and the government of prime minister Shahbaz Sharif, who replaced Mr Khan.
Radical Islamists outside Pakistan's supreme court in Islamabad on Monday CREDIT: AAMIR QURESHI/AFP
Sharif's party and supporters are also angry at the Supreme Court insisting regional elections on May 14 must go ahead. Mr Khan’s popularity among voters has made the ruling government and military anxious as they fear his party may sweep the polls in Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Mr Khan alleges that the Pakistan military plans to imprison him for the next 10 years on sedition charges and ban his political party. However, he has vowed to fight for "real freedom" until the last drop of his blood and prefers death over enslavement.
His arrest last week triggered protests and his furious supporters descended on major cities and military sites across the country in an unprecedented show of defiance against the powerful military.
Tensions in Pakistan were already high after Mr Khan named a senior officer in the feared Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) military spy network as being behind the attempt on his life. Mr Khan has been locked in a bitter row with the military, which he alleges oversaw his ousting in a no confidence vote in 2022.
Pro-government protest the ruling by supreme court in Islamabad CREDIT: AFP/AAMIR QURESHI
The military has ruled Pakistan for almost half of its history, and although it is widely seen as pulling the strings of political affairs, discussing that influence in public has long been deemed taboo.
Nearly 7,000 supporters of Khan have been arrested in a countrywide crackdown against protesters who attacked military installations. Police and intelligence agencies are accused of torturing Khan's workers, including women.
Mr Khan returned to the Lahore High Court on Monday where his lawyers said they were seeking information on fresh cases linking him to the violence that followed his arrest. The case will continue on Tuesday.
Mr Khan was accompanied by his wife, Bushra Bibi, who is tangled up in the same corruption case that led to the former leader's arrest.
Mr Khan's team erected a white curtain between his vehicle and the courtroom to shield the couple from the media.
Radical Islamists storm supreme court after Imran Khan is released
Pakistan remains on a knife edge as the former prime minister is released on bail and regional elections go ahead
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