(RightWing.org) – Pakistan’s lawmakers and law enforcement agencies appear to have taken a page out of the playbook being used by Leftists in the United States. The national parliament ousted the country’s wildly popular former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, in April 2022, a year short of serving his full five-year term in office. Most recently, paramilitary troops arrested him on corruption charges using Pakistan’s anti-terrorism act to justify federal action.
Khan, 70, claims the government had him arrested to derail his efforts to return to office. He posted a tweet a few hours before his arrest accusing the public relations wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) office, and a rival coalition of political parties called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) of trying to prevent him from campaigning for prime minister. He also accused them of trying to mobilize “the masses” to hit the streets in a show of support for the country’s constitution.
My reply to ISPR & attempts by PDM & their handlers to arrest me for two reasons: 1. To prevent me from campaigning bec InshaAllah when elections are announced I will be doing jalsas. 2. To prevent me from mobilising the masses for street movement in support of Constitution if… pic.twitter.com/IQIQmFERah
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 9, 2023
The former prime minister had a wildly successful career playing cricket, scoring thousands of runs over the better part of two decades before his retirement. Former teammate and sports commentator Shoaib Akhtar posted a short clip showing black-clad troops roughly forcing Khan and his attorney into a stark-looking military vehicle.
It's a heart wrenching visual to see our national hero , @ImranKhanPTI being manhandled this way, considering he's injured and has countless services for Pakistan, Where are we heading towards? Show some respect to our national hero’s plz🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/UFd08TVOcp
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) May 10, 2023
Akhtar captioned the clip with a call for federal authorities to “show some respect” to Pakistan’s “national hero.” He also wrote that it was “heart-wrenching” to see Khan being “manhandled,” considering his current medical condition. Khan is 70 years old and reportedly uses a wheelchair.
پوری قوم کا فوری مطالبہ !!#ReleaseImranKhan pic.twitter.com/By4jte1OvV
— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 9, 2023
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the nation’s ruling party, posted a series of tweets calling for nationwide protests and documenting the public response to that request. The PTI pinned a video to its Twitter page showing demonstrators in 18 cities throughout Pakistan.
The Associated Press reported that Khan is the seventh prime minister arrested in Pakistan. It remains unclear if or when the courts scheduled his next hearing.
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