Imran Khan said that the government was trying to crush PTI out of desperation because they knew the ‘match had been lost’.

“As the saying goes, you cannot stop an idea whose time has come,” he said, adding that the ‘nation has decided’.

He also added that he was mentally prepared to be arrested but it would not make no difference.

Imran Khan confirmed that he would appear before NAB in Islamabad on May 23 and said that he could be arrested.

“The way things are looking, there is a high chance I could be arrested tomorrow,” he said in a Twitter Space.

Imran has been summoned for investigation in the Al-Qadir case, now known as the £190 million case, in which he was arrested on May 9.

Imran Khan said that he would win elections whenever they took place because PTI’s votebank is intact.

“Even if they break away half of our ticket holders, we will put up new candidates aand they will win the elections.”

He added that the PDM parties were clinging on to the army’s support because their vote bank had disappeared.

He added that the ‘masterminds’ behind the action against PTI had no idea how politics worked.

Imran Khan said that the ‘Sharif Mafia’ was creating divisions in the Supreme Court the same way they had done in 1997.

He added that though there were divisions there are ‘great judges on both sides’.

“I hope the judges will take a stand for Pakistan,” he said.

Imran Khan said that protesting peacefully anywhere, even at GHQ, was the right of every citizen, but the arson on Corp Commander House and Radio Pakistan was a crime.

Speaking in a Twitter space, Imran Khan said that the events of May 9 are being used as an excuse to dismantle the party, like Hitler’s use of the burning of the German assembly.

He also said that the crackdown being faced by the party workers, including women, was on a scale never before seen in Pakistan.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan is speaking to supporters via Twitter Spaces.

The space began at 9pm and will include a question and answer session as well.

Pakistan’s military has struck back after an unprecedented challenge to its hegemony by the popular Imran Khan and his followers, but the nuclear-armed nation remains caught between its most powerful institution and the man who was once a firm ally.

Khan’s arrest on corruption charges earlier this month, which he says was at the behest of the generals, led to violent nationwide protests, attacks on military buildings and on the homes of senior officers, allegedly by the former prime minister’s supporters.

There has never been that kind of challenge to Pakistan’s military, which has held sway over the country since independence in 1947 with a mixture of fear and respect. It has been in power for three of those decades and has wielded extraordinary influence even with a civilian government in office.

“I’ve seen the fall of Dhaka and of course there was a lot of opposition later, but never of this severity,” said Naeem Khalid Lodhi, a general who was part of the army’s top decision making process as a corps commander, and later held key government posts.

The 1971 fall of Dhaka in what was then East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh after defeat by arch-enemy India has been the lowest point for Pakistan’s military since 1947.

Populist civilian leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took charge after that debacle, holding sway over the army for five years.

The generals, however, staged a military coup in 1977, and stayed in power for 11 years. Military ruler Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq ordered Bhutto hanged.

Khan was released by court order two days after his arrest, but his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party now faces the ire of the military.

Thousands of supporters have been arrested, including Khan’s top aides. The government has said those accused of being involved in attacks on its installations will be tried by military courts - a platform typically reserved for enemies of the state.

With Pakistan also grappling with a devastating economic crisis, a showdown between the military and its most popular political leader could push the nation of 220 million to the brink of chaos.

“(The military) is trying to assert raw power by invoking the draconian Army Act against civil society and thereby risks destroying Pakistan’s fragile constitutional system,” said Shuja Nawaz, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center and author of “The Battle for Pakistan”.

A spokesperson for the military did not respond to several requests for comment.

Khan’s gambit

While civilian organisations have historically been unable to stand up to the military’s might in a country where no elected prime minister has completed a full term, Khan is unlikely to be a pushover.

The larger-than-life 70-year-old is an Oxford graduate, was part of London’s smart set in the late 1970s and later led cricket-mad Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup. Famed for his aggressive, never-say-die attitude when he played the game, he seems to have brought that approach into politics.

After years in the wilderness, rival political parties said the military supported his ascent to become prime minister in 2018 while Khan himself blamed the same generals for his ouster last year. The military denies any role in his taking office or his ouster.

Since then Khan has shown an uncanny ability to mobilise crowds and some analysts say he has the support of many in the rank-and-file of the military.

“Khan has weaponised the resentment his followers feel about his removal into a frontal assault on army leaders,” said Aqil Shah, an academic and author of the book “The Army and Democracy in Pakistan”.

His popularity remains high - well ahead of his opponents, according to local polls - in the run-up to national elections which are due by November this year.

However, Khan is vulnerable on many fronts. If he is found guilty in any of the numerous cases against him, ranging from corruption to inciting terror, it would in all probability disqualify him from participating in the polls.

The army’s vast intelligence apparatus will also turn the screws on PTI’s leadership, many of whom have already jumped ship because of pressure and fear of retribution, Khan says.

The way forward

Analysts say talks are necessary between Khan, the army and the civilian government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to defuse the situation - but there have been no indications of any negotiated settlement.

Khan has dismissed the Sharif government as inconsequential.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told Reuters that Khan’s supporters attacked “sensitive military installations” and that the law would take its course.

Zulfiqar Bukhari, one of Khan’s few close aides yet to be arrested, says the PTI has reached out for talks with the military, but had got no response.

“Unfortunately, no one wants to listen,” he said.

Some analysts believe Khan will have to placate the generals in some way for him to survive.

Others said the gloves were off and the military would not back down.

“Ultimate power in Pakistan flows through the barrel of the gun,” said Shah, the academic. “The military is unlikely to give Khan the off-ramp any time soon.”

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States and currently a scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington, said the military has lost standing significantly and it will not accept being attacked and taunted.

“The military’s power comes from its ability to deploy force, not popularity - Pakistan’s generals like being liked but they like being in control even more,” he said.

The National Assembly passed a resolution expressing ‘full faith and complete solidarity’ with the army on Monday.

The resolution said that May 9 shoudl be observed as a “Black Day” and that everyone involved in arson and attacks on military installations should be brought to the law including the Army Act.

The resolution also that social media rules should be implemented to fight propaganda being ‘unleashed’ against the country’s institutions.

The resolution was tabled by Khawaja Asif.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said there was ‘no vendetta’ and Imran Khan was only being implicated in cases where corruption had taken place.

He added that the nation would not forget how events of May 9 and that the PTI’s conduct in the May 9 incidents had been enemy-like.

He also claimed that he had no idea that NAB was about to arrest Imran Khan on May 9 and the decision had been made by the bureau alone.

PTI leader Shireen Mazari was released from Adiala Jail around 7pm on Monday, but immediately re-arrested similar to her previous release.

The re-arrest was confirmed by her lawyer Ahsan J. Pirzada on Twitter.

He added that this was her fourth arrest in the last 10 days.

Orders for her release had been issued by the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench earlier in the day.

You can read a detailed version of the court story here.

Dost Mazari, former Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly, formally joined Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz on Monday.

Mazari made teh decision after a meeting with Maryam Nawaz and expressed ‘confidence’ in the PMLN’s leadership.

Maryam said that Mazari’s joining would help strengthen the party in South Punjab.

Mazari had been at odds with the PTI since last year and had even been attacked when a vote of no confidence was being cast against Speaker Pervaiz Elahi.

Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain has left the Pervaiz Elahi group, while former Provincial Minister of Punjab for Auqaf and Religious Affairs Pir Syed Saeedul Hassan Shah and Faizullah Kamuka parted ways from the PTI.

Since the events of May 9, dozens of PTI workers and leaders have left their party. It all started when former MNA Mehmood Maulvi from Karachi left the Imran Khan-led party.

Pervaiz Elahi’s brother Chaudhry Wajahat strongly condemned the May 9 events and announced leaving the alliance with his brother.

Talking to the media along with other leaders, Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain said that the whole of Pakistan is condemning the May 9 events. “We also condemn the attacks on military installations.”

He said that pray that in the coming days, the whole family should come together. “Maybe those who put cracks should gather there, I have no connection with PTI.”

Moreover, addressing a press conference in Lahore, PTI West Punjab president Faizullah Kamoka, condemning the May 09 events also, announced to leave the party.

Faizullah said: “I am not involved in any vandalism, and took the decision to leave PTI without any pressure. I am resigning from the chairmanship of PTI West Punjab, now I have to decide whether to do politics or not.”

Hassan Shah, who joined PTI in 2018 after winning as an independent candidate from PP-46 Zafarwal, also announced to quit PTI.

He said, “I fully supported the PTI on every front, but what happened on May 9 hurt me and the people of the constituency.”

The former minister said that Zafarwal is the land of martyrs and Ghazis. “We have always given respect and respect to the officers and troops of the Pakistan Army. Martyrs’ memorials and military establishments were attacked on May 9.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Quetta on Monday for a day-long visit to inaugurate the 34th National Games.

Upon his arrival at the airport, Balochistan Governor Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar warmly welcomed the prime minister.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb, stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would attend in the opening ceremony of the 34th National Games in Quetta, marking the return of the event after a gap of 19 years.

The prime minister would officially declare the National Games open, said Aurangzeb.

Additionally, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to hold significant meetings with the political leadership in Quetta during his visit.

A 14-year-old boy, whose video went viral on social media showing him verbally abusing the police and security forces, has been arrested by the Peshawar police.

Soon after the video went viral, the police, acting swiftly, took the teenager into custody at Dadu police station. The boy has been identified as a seventh-grade student.

He was described by authorities as immature and lacking awareness of the consequences of his actions.

Following the arrest, the police summoned the boy’s father to the station, instructing him to closely monitor and guide his son in the future.

The officials emphasised the need for responsible behavior and urged parents to play an active role in guiding their children’s conduct.

Later on, the teenager was released on bail.

Overseas Pakistan booked

In a related incident, the Peshawar East police station filed a first information report (FIR) against Syed Wali Shah Sakna Dirbala Wari, an overseas citizen residing in Saudi Arabia.

The FIR was registered in response to his online abuse and threats directed at the Peshawar police and security forces.

According to the officials, the accused has been making derogatory statements and using offensive language against the police on social media platforms.

It was also alleged that the accused had been inciting public sentiment against the police and security forces, leading to the filing of a formal case against him.

The PTI has challenged the imposition of Article 245 (functions of armed) in the Supreme Court. PTI lawyer barrister Gohar filed the petition on behalf of PTI leader Asad Umar.

“The imposition of Article 245 cannot be used for political purposes,” said the petition.

The plea added that the trial of civilians in the military courts was against fundamental rights. “The Constitution gives every citizen the right to a transparent and fair trial,” it said.

“Thousands of workers and leaders have never been tried in a military court,” it said and urged the court to declare imposition of Article 245 and declare the crackdown as “null and void”.

On May 10, the interior ministry approved army deployment in Islamabad, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to address the deteriorating law and order situation in major cities across Pakistan.

The decision was taken a day after massive protests broke out in the wake of PTI chief Imran Khan’s arrest, though he later got bail from the court.

“The government took the decision to exercise the powers conferred under Article 245 (functions of armed forces) of the Constitution and Section 4 (3) (ii) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (to discharge such functions as specified in the said act),” said the ministry’s notification.

https://www.aajenglish.tv/live/politics-may-22-2023

The interim government of Punjab has opposed the Supreme Court’s decision to have snap polls in the province, saying that the top court does not have the prerogative of giving the date.

“The prerogative to give a date for election lies with other institutions,” the caretaker chief secretary said in his reply to the apex court. He alleged that the court violated the Constitution by giving the date.

Under Article 218 (election commission) of the Constitution, holding an election was the responsibility of the ECP, the plea said. The chief secretary mentioned that the top court did not give the election date for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

It added that right to bring changes in the election prorgamme lies with the election commission. “Security situation has changed in the province after May 9.”