Follow us on social

2023-05-09t141328z_150938224_rc21v0aoscnn_rtrmadp_3_pakistan-politics-khan-scaled

Imran Khan arrest sparks rare violence against police, military across Pakistan

The government is now weighing its response, as whatever happens now will affect security, politics, and even US relations.

Analysis | Reporting | Middle East

UPDATE 5/12, 6:30 AM EST: Islamabad's high court has ordered former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan released on bail after he was arrested on Tuesday, sparking nationwide protests and violence.


Former prime minister Imran Khan's arrest by Pakistani Rangers on Tuesday has sparked unprecedented protests targeting police and military installations. The outrage reached a boiling point when protesters ransacked the Lahore Corps Commander's House.

Although arrests of politicians and large political protests are common in Pakistan, it is rare for them to target military installations.

Khan’s arrest is purportedly connected to the Al-Qadir Trust case, which revolves around allegations of fraud. However, many Pakistanis, including some of Khan's opponents, claim that the detention is a consequence of his clash with the security establishment. Khan has accused Major General Faisal Naseer of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of plotting (and failing) to assassinate him last November. But the optics of the Rangers taking Khan into custody from the Islamabad High Court has even prompted staunch critics of Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party to express messages of support on social media.

While demonstrators have been seen setting fire to military facilities, police vehicles, and even attempting to breach the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, the military appears to have made a conscious decision to lightly protect these installations and not respond violently in Islamabad or Lahore. 

There are potentially three factors contributing to this approach. First, the military might be speculating that the protests will naturally lose steam over time. Secondly, the leadership could be aiming to avoid violent confrontations that could further endear the protesters to the general public or alienate their own officers and rank and file, many of whom may support Khan. Instead, they may assume that allowing the protesters to inflict damage on government property and residences will eventually turn the masses and PTI supporters within the military against them.

Furthermore, the demonstrations could be used as a justification to limit Khan’s participation in politics and place restrictions on PTI. 

Lastly, taking no action might be perceived as a more powerful short-term response. Nevertheless, protesters in some areas have been met with tear gas and the internet is down in parts of the country. There are some reports of clashes in provincial cities, a situation that could easily escalate into more violence.

Imran Khan’s arrest intensifies an already escalating political crisis and adds fuel to the fire as the nation teeters on the edge of an economic precipice. The impact of this situation extends beyond Imran Khan himself, potentially dealing a severe blow to Pakistan's efforts to overcome its economic crisis and secure regional assistance, including an IMF bailout.

It also has potential ramifications for U.S.-Pakistan relations. In April 2022, Imran Khan was removed from the position of prime minister through a vote of no confidence. He attributed his removal to a U.S.-backed conspiracy for regime change. While some of his supporters interpreted this as a literal U.S. conspiracy, others understood it as a metaphor for the alleged desire of the military establishment to oust him. 

To distance themselves from accusations of a U.S. regime change conspiracy, senior members of the PTI have recently been observed engaging in public meetings with U.S. officials. This crisis presents a dilemma for Washington as it strives to publicly support a healthy democratic process in Pakistan, while also maintaining cordial relations with all major political parties and relying on Pakistan's military establishment as a partner in counterterrorism efforts. Any public or private comments from Washington could potentially do more harm than good, and involving itself in what essentially amounts to a domestic political struggle would be unwise.


A woman gestures next to a burning police vehicle during a protest by the supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan after his arrest, in Karachi, Pakistan, May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Analysis | Reporting | Middle East
US military border
U.S. Army Strykers from 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, assigned to Joint Task Force - Southern Border (JTF-SB) in May 2025. (Army Spc. Michael Graf)

Military seizing massive swaths of public lands at the border

North America

The Trump administration has transferred thousands of acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border to be controlled by the Department of Defense (DoD). The transfer is part of an ongoing expansion of the military’s presence along the border which the administration claims is necessary to “control” illegal immigration.

Critics of the land transfer, including some who live near the affected areas, have raised concerns about the environmental impact of military operations on these large swathes of land. Additionally, much of the land now under the jurisdiction of the military encompasses national parks and other federal lands which the public is losing access to.

keep readingShow less
Warfare movie A24
Top photo credit: (official trailer for Warfare/A24)
'Warfare': Rare Iraq film that doesn't preach but packs truth

'Warfare': Rare Iraq War film that doesn't preach but packs punch

Media

Unlike Alex Garland’s Civil War, his Warfare, co-directed with war vet Ray Mendoza, is not just another attempt at a realistic portrayal of war, in all its blood and gore. Warfare, based on a true story, is really a parable about the overweening ambition and crushing failure of empire, a microcosm of America’s disastrous adventure in Iraq.

A Navy Seal mission reconnoiters a neighborhood in Ramadi. “I like this house,” says the team commander, reflecting the overconfidence of the empire at its unipolar moment. But it soon becomes clear that the mission has underestimated the enemy, that the whole neighborhood has, in fact, been tracking the Seals’ movements. Surprised and scared, the mission requests to be extricated. But extrication becomes a bloody, hellish experience despite the Seals’ technological edge in weapons, IT, and logistics, and it barely succeeds.

keep readingShow less
vietnam war memorial washington DC
Top photo credit: Washington, DC, May 24, 2024: A visitor reads the names of the fallen soldiers at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the National Mall ahead of Memorial Day. (A_Kiphayet/Shutterstock)

Veterans: What we would say to Trump on this Memorial Day

Military Industrial Complex

This Memorial Day comes a month after the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, which was largely used to recall the collapse of the entire American project in Vietnam. In short, the failure of the war is now viewed as both a rebuke of the American Exceptionalism myth and the rigid Cold War mentality that had Washington in a vice grip for much of the 20th Century.

“The leaders who mismanaged this debacle were never held accountable and remained leading players in the establishment for the rest of their lives,” noted author and professor Stephen Walt in a RS symposium on the war. “The country learned little from this bitter experience, and repeated these same errors in Iraq, Afghanistan, and several other places.”

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.