“It could stoke unrest, intensify public fury against the government, anger key Pakistani partners like China that have called for reduced tensions, and raise serious concerns among bilateral donors and the IMF.” The arrest could backfire on Shehbaz Sharif’s government, Kugelman said. Emboldened by strong support in opinion polls and rallies, Khan has shown no signs of backing down against the government and the army and is seeking support from the Supreme Court to hold polls in two provinces for a start. The politician is agitating for early elections after getting ousted in April 2022 in a no-confidence vote. The army had slammed his remarks and asked him to address the matter in court. Over the weekend, Khan had once again accused the nation’s powerful military of being behind at least two attempts to murder him, focusing on the alleged involvement of a senior official from the Inter-Service Intelligence, or ISI, which oversees Pakistan’s internal security. Political tensions will only add to the risks of a delay. Islamabad is struggling to restart a $6.5 billion bailout program from the Washington-based lender, which has stalled after the government failed to meet some loan conditions. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who traveled to London to attended the coronation of King Charles III, decided to delay his return to Pakistan until Wednesday, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Tuesday morning before the arrest, citing the need for consultations on political and national issues. It downgraded the nation’s rating to an all-time low earlier this year. Moody’s Investors Service has warned the nation could default without an International Monetary Fund bailout as its financing options beyond June are uncertain. The latest upheaval comes as Pakistan is grappling with an economy in deep distress. “Taking the painful decisions the economy needs and holding orderly elections will become even harder now.” ![]() “More protests, more disruption, more violence, and more political and economic dysfunction is on the way,” said Hasnain Malik, a strategist at Tellimer in Dubai. Its benchmark KSE-100 Index fell by 1.1% at close, the most in almost seven weeks. The nation’s rupee fell 0.35%, the most in a month, at close. Pakistan’s dollar bonds pared earlier gains, with the security due April 2024 retreating to 50.1 cents on the dollar from as high as 51.3 earlier Tuesday, after news of the arrest. This and state-gift selling case are both evidence.” “Khan has done corruption that is clearly documented. The government has no control over the NAB, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said at a press conference in Islamabad. Khan’s party said he was arrested Tuesday in connection with a graft investigation involving a plot of land. ![]() But if so, the civilian leadership, given their long and ugly vendetta with Khan, surely backed the move,” Kugelman added. The arrest followed soon after Khan repeated earlier allegations that a senior military officer was behind his assassination attempt last year and “given that Khan was detained by paramilitary forces, this was likely the military acting directly. “The arrest marks a major escalation in a long-running confrontation between Imran Khan and the civilian and military leadership,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center. Amid the protests, mobile broadband services were suspended on the orders of the interior ministry, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, while complaints of slow internet service spread on social media. Khan’s party reported at least four people were killed and 20 injured in separate clashes. ![]() Protesters set fire to at least three buildings across the country, while police said dozens of supporters have been arrested. Protesters also stormed the official residence of the top regional commander in Lahore, a rare breach of an area controlled by the military. A separate video from his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, showed supporters, some with sticks and face masks, entering the army’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
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