explainer
The riots that erupted across the country on this “dark day” last year sparked a months-long political crisis that led to former Prime Minister Imran Khan being jailed and a crackdown on his party.
Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) is planning rallies across the country on Thursday to mark one year since the arrest of its leader and former prime minister Imran Khan.
Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, was arrested on this day last year, sparking a months-long political crisis. As a result, the PTI chief was jailed again in August for several felonies and the government’s suppression of the party.
Khan, 71, is still involved in a number of conviction cases and is currently lodged in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi town.
Here we summarize the events leading up to Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023, and the main events that followed.
2022
April 10th: Khan loses a vote of no confidence in parliament and is forced to oust him from office. He alleges a US-backed conspiracy to remove him from office. Shehbaz Sharif, a rival from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party, became prime minister. The United States denies any role in Khan’s ouster from power.
October 21st: Two months after Khan was indicted in the state gifts case, the Election Commission of Pakistan found him guilty of “corrupt practices” and disqualified him from membership in parliament. The case relates to allegations that Mr. Khan sold gifts he received from foreign countries during his tenure. In power.
November 3rd: An assassination attempt occurred against Mr. Khan, who was leading a protest movement demanding a snap general election in Wazirabad, Punjab.
2023
May 9th: Khan was arrested in a corruption case while appearing in court in the capital Islamabad, sparking nationwide protests by his supporters who accused the military of orchestrating his arrest. The military has consistently denied any role in Khan’s legal or political affairs.
May 11th: Amid deadly PTI-led protests, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled Khan’s arrest illegal and ordered his immediate release.
May 17th:Authorities claim Mr. Khan is harboring participants in the May 9 riots in his Lahore home. Pakistan’s National Security Council approved the military’s decision to try arrested protesters in military courts.
August 5th: Police arrested Khan in Lahore after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.
August 6: Pakistan’s Election Commission banned Khan from participating in politics for five years following his conviction in the state treasury gift scandal.
August 9: President Arif Alvi dissolves the National Assembly and the House of Representatives, paving the way for elections.
August 14th: An interim government was established under Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar.
August 20th: Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a close aide of Mr. Khan and former foreign minister, is arrested on charges of state secrets or encryption — this refers to the leak of confidential diplomatic cables that Mr. Khan claims is a sign of Mr. Khan’s power. It claims it provides evidence against his charges that the United States played a role in his ouster from office.
October 21st: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, brother of Shehbaz Sharif, returns to Pakistan from exile in the UK. Days after his arrival, the Islamabad High Court granted him bail in several corruption cases.
October 24th: Five members of the Supreme Court declared nine civilian military trials unconstitutional in May.
November 21st: Islamabad High Court declares Khan’s prison trial illegal and drops charges in crypto case.
December 14th: A six-judge bench of the Supreme Court upheld the government’s appeal of the October 24 ruling. This allows for the continuation of the May 9 military trial against the defendants.
2024
January 13th: Khan’s PTI is banned from using its iconic cricket bat symbol because it does not hold internal party elections. PTI-backed candidates will be forced to contest elections as independents.
January 30th: Khan was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the encryption case.
January 31st: A court in Rawalpindi sentenced Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 years in prison in a state gift case.
February 3rd: Another court in Rawalpindi sentenced Khan and Bibi to seven years in prison, saying their marriage violated Islamic law.
February 8th: Parliamentary and local elections are held in Pakistan. The PTI alleges widespread voter fraud, but the government denies the charges.
February 13th: The PMLN and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) form the government with other allies, even as PTI-backed MPs have emerged as the single largest bloc in parliament.
March 11: Police arrest over 100 PTI supporters protesting allegations of election fraud.
April 1st: Islamabad High Court suspends prison sentences of Khan and Bibi in state gift case.
May 8th: Bibi, who was under house arrest at Khan’s Bani Gala residence in Islamabad, is transferred to Adiala Jail.
