Pakistan-Khan standoff: What would justice look like to each side?

Pakistan is entering week two of a high-stakes legal standoff between authorities and former Prime Minister Imran Khan – a crisis that has raised serious questions about the fairness of the judiciary.

It all began when police and security officials arrived at Mr. Khan’s Lahore residence last Tuesday after the cricketer-turned-politician refused to appear for scheduled hearings in a case related to his handling of state gifts. The arrest operation quickly transformed into a siege as Mr. Khan’s supporters repelled the police. Yesterday, as police rounded up scores of his followers and the government termed his party a “clique of militants,” the controversial leader claimed that he had narrowly escaped assassination during the chaos this weekend.

Days of violent clashes between law enforcement and activists from Mr. Khan’s political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have led to fears of institutional breakdown, and justice officials now find themselves in a position where any decision will court controversy. Mr. Khan and his supporters are unlikely to accept anything less than complete exoneration. But after the standoff last week, the government has portrayed the crisis as a test case to ensure that Pakistan does not descend into anarchy and lawlessness. 

“The problem on Imran Khan’s end is that he’s making a mockery out of the system of justice,” says lawyer and political commentator Abdul Moiz Jaferii, “because [in] Pakistan – even with its very checkered past of the judiciary and the very checkered past of its politicians – you’ve never had an instance where politicians refuse to turn up to a court without consequence, and that’s what’s happening here.”

Court compromise

An Islamabad court canceled Mr. Khan’s arrest warrant after he turned up for a hearing at the judicial complex on Saturday, though he was unable to enter the building due to clashes between his supporters and security personnel, and the case has been adjourned until March 30. Court officials reported today that Mr. Khan was also granted a weeklong bail in new terrorism cases related to the violence incited in the capital this weekend.

“It makes no sense to me as a citizen of the country that a person who … continues to flout the law should receive the sort of relief from the courts that he has received,” says Bilal Kayani, an adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Others in government agree. 

“The question is, what is the difference between what Mr. Khan is doing and what extremists groups do?” says Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. “In the heart of Lahore, which is the heart of Pakistan, Khan has created an island where there is no writ of any government or any law.”

Yet Mr. Khan’s supporters see these arrest efforts as unjust. They contend that the cases against the former prime minister are politically motivated and have been expedited to ensure that he is disqualified from holding public office before the country goes to the polls at the end of the year. 

“They [the government] have reached the conclusion that politically they simply cannot compete with Imran Khan,” says PTI Secretary-General Asad Umar. “We believe that they knew that if they used excessive force, the people would resist and then they would have fresh grounds for creating new cases against Imran Khan.”

The government has consistently denied any involvement in prosecuting Mr. Khan. 

“What is happening is Mr. Khan’s own making. He is the author of his own troubles because he refuses to obey court orders,” says Mr. Iqbal, the planning minister. Mr. Khan failed to appear in court for the initial summons and used his supporters to incite violence, including throwing petrol bombs, throwing stones, and burning police vehicles, the minister says.

Pervaiz Rashid – vice president of the government’s senior coalition partner, The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz – has accused Mr. Khan of trying to delay the legal process for as long as it takes him to get back into power. The courts’ leniency, he says, sets a dangerous precedent. 

“By showing weakness, the courts have encouraged Mr. Khan to disobey their orders,” he says. “He knows that the cases against him are open and shut and will lead to a conviction, and so his only option is … to use delaying tactics so that the political situation changes.”

Army involvement

As is frequently the case in Pakistani politics, fingers have also been pointed at the country’s powerful military, colloquially referred to as the “establishment.” Mr. Khan has accused the Army’s top brass of working with the government to ensure that he is unable to contest elections. 

Mr. Khan, like many political leaders before him, enjoyed the support of the Pakistan Army on his path to power, only to fall out with the generals while serving as prime minister. 

“Imran Khan has become too big for the establishment to swallow,” says Fawad Chaudhry, who served as minister of information in Mr. Khan’s government. “In Pakistan the army has always acted as a deep state. They are the ones who take the decisions. Now, the kind of political environment in Pakistan is that they have to accept the role of a junior partner, which they are not ready to do.”

In his farewell address at the end of November, outgoing army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa made a promise that in future the army would refrain from meddling in the country’s political affairs. Yet many, including PTI stalwart and former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, allege that the army is now even more intrusive than it was under General Bajwa.

“Our military has redefined the term ‘neutral’; the interventions have become more violent and more aggressive,” she says, adding that she and others in the party believe some military leaders are driven by “a personal dislike or vendetta against Mr. Khan.”

Mr. Jaferii, the commentator, says the current military leadership would find itself “near extinction” if Mr. Khan came back into power. But he believes we’ll see Mr. Khan in court first. 

“These cases against Imran Khan are farcical; they are only speeding up now because ... the political designs of the military establishment and the government ... coinciding,” Mr. Jaferii says. But “there’s really no way out other than for him to go and eventually surrender to the court,” he adds, “because after all, we are a system of laws.“

Mr. Khan’s supporters, however, are not convinced of the legality of the cases. 

“Just look at the substance of the cases on Imran Khan,” says Mr. Chaudhry. “Hundreds and thousands of people turn up every time they try to arrest him. Why? Because the charges are so weak, the charges are so rubbish that everyone thinks it is their duty to protect Imran Khan.” 

With pressure on the courts to make a decision, and none of the stakeholders willing to back down, the crisis shows no sign of abating.