Pakistan has started crackdown on Imran Khan’s party

Pakistani authorities have launched a crackdown on former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, detaining thousands of supporters of the popular opposition leader and allegedly pressuring senior allies to leave the group.

Pakistan’s military and the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have responded fiercely to violent protests sparked by Khan’s arrest this month by an anti-corruption agency. At least 10 people have been killed and military buildings vandalized in the protests.

Khan, who is out on bail, on Thursday claimed that 10,000 PTI supporters are in jail. The government has estimated that this figure is lower.

Khan said Pakistan under Sharif had begun a “decline into fascism” while “trying to eliminate the state party”.

Several senior PTI leaders have also been arrested, and some have suddenly announced they are quitting the party and quitting politics in recent days. These included former PTI ministers Fawad Chaudhary and Shireen Mazari. Mazari announced his retirement on Tuesday after being arrested four times this month.

Sharif and the army, which play a powerful behind-the-scenes role in governing the country, have condemned violence perpetrated by Khan’s supporters and vowed to crack down on alleged perpetrators, whom the prime minister accused of terrorism. Is. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Wednesday that the authorities were considering a ban on PTI.

Khan, who has led a relentless and often bitter campaign for immediate elections, and his party also condemned the violence.

On Wednesday, the former prime minister offered to hold talks with the government to find a solution to the crisis – his most significant concession since being removed from office in a no-confidence vote last year. “If they have a solution and (show) that the country will do better without Imran Khan, I am ready to step aside,” he said.

The arrests have alarmed international observers, with UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk warning on Wednesday that “the rule of law is at grave risk”.

Analysts said the crackdown, which they believe is being organized by the military, is one of the most significant challenges to democracy in Pakistan since it returned to civilian rule in 2008 after years of dictatorship. I went.

“The current actions are evidence of a slide toward outright authoritarianism,” said Uzair Yunus, director of the Pakistan Initiative at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think-tank. “The present structure still has an aspect of civilian democratic governance through Parliament. Whether it survives or not remains to be seen.

He added that the campaign “was being conducted by the military, with the coalition government in Islamabad playing the role of a willing junior partner”.

Pakistan’s military and government did not respond to requests for comment.

Khan is facing legal challenges, including allegations of corruption and terrorism, all of which he denies. While many analysts said he would be the most popular candidate in national elections due by October, he could be barred from contesting if found guilty.

Imtiaz Gul, a political commentator in Islamabad, said, “Before the elections are held, the PTI will be effectively shackled.” “It is a systematic binding of the most popular political party.”

Civil society groups have also called on authorities to search for pro-PTI journalist Imran Riaz Khan, who has been missing since his arrest on May 11.

Campaign group Reporters Without Borders alleged that Khan, who is not related to the former prime minister, was “abducted” by the military. “Pakistani authorities will be held directly responsible for any damage,” the group said in a statement.

A second journalist, Sami Ibrahim, was also reported missing by his family on Thursday.