Heeding Imran Khan’s “final call”, convoy of vehicles carrying several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and protesters made its way from Peshawar towards Islamabad on 24th November. The aim of the protest was to hold a sit-in at D-Chowk, near the Pakistani parliament and call for the demands of the political party.
The objective of the march stemmed from PTI’s demand for the release of Imran Khan along with the other supporters who were detained or arrested as political prisoners, the demand for rescinding the 26th constitutional amendment and the demand for the dissolution of the current Shehbaaz Shariff government in power.
Khan took to platform X from the Adiala jai in Rawalpindi, urging his supporters to join the protest and “to fight until the last ball is bowled” until their demands were met by the government.
The movement gained momentum when Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi and the Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) stepped forward to head the protest. Large number of protesters were reported to have descended from KP, as a result of PT’s strong dominance in that province.
![bushra_bibi Imran Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, encouraged protesters into the heart of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad [REUTERS]](https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bushra_bibi-1024x573.jpg)
At the time of the protest, lockdown had been initiated in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Large number of shipping containers were utilized to barricade major roads. The roads leading to Islamabad were also shut down to restrict the movement of the protesters into the capital. Schools and colleges were closed temporarily, and Section 144, was imposed prohibiting any form of public gathering.
The demonstration was the recent in a series of clashes between the PTI and the government, post Khan’s arrest.
Despite the government’s effort to dissuade the PTI’s latest demonstration, the protesters defied the lock down and pushed towards Islamabad.
PTI’s Final call campaign also coincided with the official visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who arrived in Pakistan on 25th November for the talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Upon reaching Islamabad, the protesters were met with tear gas and heavy firing from the Pakistan security forces. Several casualties and arrests were made as a result of the bludgeoning clashes between the protestors and the security personnel during the all night operation launched by the military.
![imran-khan protests Policemen fire tear gas shells to disperse supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party during a protest demanding the release of former prime minister Imran Khan [photo: AFP]](https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/imran-khan-protests-1024x683.jpg)
The Long Protest : Causation and its effect
Arrest of Khan
Khan’s incarceration comes with series of charges against him which would keep him imprisoned and embroiled in court cases. According to Khan, the current government along with the former COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had contrived to oust him out of the office as a result of his critical statements against the military. Having fallen out of favour with Pakistan’s military, Khan has incessantly blamed the country’s intelligence and military for his arrest.
Khan was first arrested on 9th May 2023 on the premises of Islamabad High Court by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The arrest was made on the grounds of corruption with regards to the Al-Qadir Trust, which he owns with his wife, Bushra Bibi.
Prior to the incident, Khan had tenaciously accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and the senior intelligence official for being responsible for the bid to assassinate him.
In response to Khan’s allegations the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) responded calling Khan’s statements “irresponsible and baseless” lacking evidentiary proof. The following day, the incident involving Khan’s arrest by the NAB at the Islamabad High court happened.
Despite ISPR claming to validate Khan’s arrest as legal, the Supreme Court of Pakistan deemed the arrest unconstitutional and mandated Khan’s immediate release.
Soon after his release, Khan accused the COAS Gen Asim Munir for being responsible for his arrest.
It is apparent in the military’s view Khan’s actions were “unacceptable” and “deplorable”. Hence, ruffling Munir’s feathers have not served Khan favourably.
Attempts to arrest Khan have consistently met with protests from his supporters nationwide, clashing with the military who has employed heavy handed approach towards them.
Additionally, Khan along with his wife and several senior leaders of the PTI are now booked on fresh charges Pakistan’s anti-terrorism act post the November 26th protests. Special “task force” is also established to investigate the protests. Among his supporters, the former spy master Lt. Gen Faiz Hameed was also arrested and court marshalled on charges of abetting in the violence which proceeded Khan’s arrest in 2023.
Allegations of divulging state secrets to the public, not declaring and selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees received during his premiership deemed as state possessions were placed on Khan. Even though, he was acquitted of some charges and received bail in regards to some cases, he remains in prison due to additional charges against him. With the slim chances of the PTI chief being released from prison, the demand for Khan’s release was central to PTI’s demand during the protests.
Passing of Twenty-sixth Amendment Act
The amendment containing 27 clauses has modified the aspects of judicial appointments, judicial powers, as well as the legal procedures. This included the limiting of the tenure of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to three-years, the reengineering of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to sit on judicial appointments, the formulation of a separate constitutional bench in the Supreme Court, restriction on courts from questioning the recommendations from Cabinet to the President or Prime Minister and the creation of a 12-member Special Committee in Parliament with proportional representation to nominate the CJP. This empowered the government to have a complete control over the judiciary for government preferred outcomes. Since Khan’s party and the Pakistan government are at loggerheads with one another, the amendment was ascertained be hazardous for PTI’s survival.
The Constitutional package was presented by the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) and attracted support from other parties.
Furthermore, PTI has accused the Pakistan Military Establishment for rigging the 2024 elections in favour of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) to deter Imran Khan from running for office. During the elections, the candidates from PTI who were forced to run as independents due to the ban on PTI also stood out as the largest bloc in the winning votes. Thus it is expected that the military will meddle constitutionally and politically to execute its control and keep Khan’s growing influence in check.
Hence the demand for the resignation of the Sharif government.
Aftermath of the protest
Pakistan’s heavy handed use of force may have curbed the situation on 26h November, however the lack of the current government’s competency at deescalating conflicts through dialogue remains visible.
The gross display of crackdown on civilians and the cover up by the government of the military brutality on the protesters became apparent with reports and videos emerging online.
Reports of a torched police post and 22 police vehicles set on fire around Islamabad and other areas in Punjab surfaced.
There were multiple security breaches, as the protesters entered the red zone, housing several government buildings and embassies.
The backlash from the law enforcement agencies led to over 1,000 arrests, including many senior PTI leaders. According to the Reuters, four paramilitary personnel and six protesters were killed in the clashes leaving several injured.
While PTI claimed that over 40 were reported dead due to police brutality. These claims were rejected by the government officials as “propaganda” disseminated by the PTI workers.
However, a video footage of Pakistan's security forces pushing a man from a stack of cargo containers “equivalent to three storeys” at the corner of Jinnah and Attaturk avenues emerged. The footage also matched the images uploaded by Getty images, which captured the same incident of the falling man.
Consequentially, PTI announced the suspension of its protest due to "state brutality," stating that the party would regroup to strategize for a plan in near future.
However, the blowback from PTI’s action is proving to be a hard hit for the political party, as none of their demands were accepted by the government and fresh charges under the anti terrorism laws were placed on Imran Khan and his associates.
Regardless of PTI’s missed call for the release of Khan, the influence of the former cricketer turned politician beyond the prison bars remains astounding.