Pak top court orders Imran Khan’s release; institutional war mars IMF deal hope

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, May 11: Hours after Pakistani President Arif Alvi expressed shock and alarm over arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and subsequent incidents of arson, the Supreme Court stepped in to haul the ruling military establishment over the coal by first giving one-hour time to produce the PTI leader and afterwards calling his detention in corruption charge illegal.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial is seen to have quickly moved into the muddied political waters of the Islamic country to throw a spanner in the calculations of the ruling military-political elites to send Khan into exile on the lines of several of his predecessors. Some of the leading lights of the ruling PML-N have even throwing slurs at the Chief Justice of Pakistan, attributing political motives to him.

The late action from the Pakistani Supreme Court came in the midst of several of the PTI leaders detained in several parts of the country. The judiciary has been in the thick of actions in the politico-military crossfire to pin down Khan over the scheduling of the provincial elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Pakistani Army has also sought to put blame on the PTI for arsons in Pakistan, which saw several of the heritage assets, including a radio station in Peshawar and residence of the corps commander in Lahore set on fire by the angry protestors. Khan has disowned the violence in protests, saying that he had not been aware since he was under arrest. He clearly anticipates charges slapped for arsons on him.

With Pakistan thrown into a raging fire over the arrest of Khan, chances of the Islamic country availing a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are also fading away. Pakistan is in dire needs to avail $6.8 billion IMF package to avert a financial default on the international obligations within two months. Several of the western nations, which take sympathetic view of Pakistan because of its geostrategic heft, have called for rule of law.

“We must have a rethink and look for political solutions, rather than coercion and arrests,” Alvi was quoted by news agencies having remarked over detention of Khan. His statement was indicative of the ruling political-military elites having overshot in their zeal to take out Khan from the political scene, which could even jeopardize the Islamic nation securing an IMF bailout package and avert an economic disaster.