Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, has threatened to start a nationwide civil disobedience movement this month following a government crackdown on his supporters that resulted in the deaths of several.
Khan urged supporters in a message posted Thursday night on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, to assemble in the northwestern city of Peshawar on December 13 for a “grand gathering to pay homage to the martyrs.” The city is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, governed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party.
The former Pakistani leader demanded that a judicial investigation be conducted into the deaths of at least 12 of his supporters during a November 26 government crackdown on what he termed “peaceful” PTI protesters in the national capital, Islamabad.
Additionally, he called for a probe into the violent police onslaughts against his party workers during nationwide protests in May of last year, which resulted in several fatalities, and sought the release of hundreds of his party workers detained during the antigovernment protests.
“If these two demands are not met, a civil disobedience movement will be launched from December 14, and the government will bear responsibility for any consequences,” warned Khan, rated as the most popular politician in Pakistan.
“Hundreds of our workers are still missing,” he stated.
The Pakistani government did not immediately comment on Khan’s threat but has repeatedly warned the PTI against resorting to violent street agitation. It has consistently denied any fatalities during last month’s PTI-led protest march. Government ministers say security forces did not use “firearms” but instead employed tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, and they have confirmed the arrest of nearly 1,000 protesters.
Officials claim that during the May 9, 2023, protests, Khan’s supporters attacked and ransacked key state buildings, including military installations, charges PTI leaders rejected as politically motivated.
On Thursday, an anti-terrorism court indicted Khan for allegedly directing the May 9 attacks against the military. The 72-year-old politician and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The special court convened the hearing and announced the indictment at Adiala Jail, the detention facility near Islamabad, where Khan, prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been held since August 2023.
Since his ouster as prime minister through an opposition vote of no-confidence in parliament, Khan has been entangled in a staggering 188 state-backed lawsuits, as reported to a federal high court by the Pakistani Interior Ministry this week.
The legal challenges encompass a broad spectrum of charges, including sedition, terrorism, murder and corruption.
The deposed Pakistani prime minister claims that the cases are fabricated charges intended to prevent his return to politics at the behest of the powerful military, a claim denied by the government and army officials.
Appeals courts have overturned or suspended all his convictions and sentences, citing a lack of evidence or trial transparency. However, authorities have prevented Khan from leaving the prison by launching new charges against him each time a court orders his release on bail. The former cricket star-turned-prime minister’s removal from power has plunged the South Asian nation of more than 240 million people into lingering political turmoil.
Since Pakistan gained independence in 1947, the military has staged three coups against elected governments, resulting in over three decades of dictatorial rule.
In recent years, prominent national politicians, including Khan, have increasingly and publicly accused army generals of influencing elected governments when not in power and orchestrating the removal of prime ministers who challenge the military’s interference.
The Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies, collectively referred to as “the establishment,” deny the allegations.
