Imran Khan - The African Mirror

May

2023

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM and ASIF SHAHZAD

Top Pakistan court rules Imran Khan’s arrest illegal, streets are quiet

PAKISTAN'S Supreme Court ruled that former Prime Minister Imran Khan's arrest was illegal, his lawyer said, two days after his detention on graft allegations triggered deadly violence, escalating his tussle with the powerful military. The protests coincide with Pakistan's worst economic crisis in decades, with record high inflation, anaemic growth and IMF funding delayed for months, prompting concerns that the country could default on its external payment obligations. The reprieve for Khan, 70, comes as a setback for the military, which has ruled the South Asian nation for almost half its history through three coups, a day after it said the violence by Khan's…

May

2023

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM, ASIF SHAHZAD and ARIBA SHAHID

Pakistan cracks down on Imran Khan’s supporters after violence

WORLD

POLICE in Pakistan have arrested hundreds of supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan for violence after his arrest on corruption charges, authorities said, deepening a political crisis in the nuclear-armed country. Tuesday's arrest of the former cricket hero, and Pakistan's most popular politician according to opinion polls, came at a precarious time for the country that is facing a shortage of foreign exchange and a months-long delay of an IMF bailout. Mobile data services were shut for a second day while Twitter, YouTube and Facebook were disrupted, as security forces tried to restore order after violence killed one person late…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

What is the corruption case against Imran Khan?

WORLD

ASIF SHAHZAD PAKISTAN'S former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested by an anti-graft agency on corruption charges. Government officials alleged that Khan and his wife received land worth millions of dollars as a bribe from a real estate tycoon through a charitable trust. Khan and his aides have denied any wrongdoing. The developer has denied the charges in the past but he could not be contacted on Wednesday and his company's marketing manager did not respond to a request for fresh comment. Below are some facts about the trust and the land acquisition. WHAT IS AL-QADIR TRUST? Al-Qadir Trust is…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan arrested, stirring nationwide violence

WORLD

ASIF SHAHZAD and GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM PAKISTAN'S anti-corruption agency arrested former prime minister Imran Khan at Islamabad High Court, threatening fresh turmoil in the nuclear-armed country as clashes erupted between Khan supporters and police, killing at least one protester. Khan's arrest comes a day after the powerful military rebuked him for repeatedly accusing a senior military officer of trying to engineer his assassination and the former armed forces chief of being behind his removal from power last year. Dozens of paramilitary troops in riot-control gear surrounded Khan - Pakistan's most popular leader according to opinion polls - and led him into a…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Ousted Pakistan PM Imran Khan shot in shin in what aides call assassination attempt

WORLD

GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM, ASIF SHAHZAD and MUBASHER BUKHARI FORMER Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot in the shin when his anti-government protest convoy came under attack in the east of the country in what his aides said was a clear assassination attempt by his rivals. Khan, ousted as prime minister in a parliamentary confidence vote in April, was six days into a protest procession bound for Islamabad, standing and waving to thousands of cheering supporters from the roof of a container truck, when the shots rang out. Several in his convoy were wounded in the attack in Wazirabad, nearly 200 km…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Khan lawmakers quit en masse as Pakistan parliament elects Sharif PM

WORLD

ASIF SHAHZAD and GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM MORE than 100 lawmakers loyal to Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan resigned, creating a headache for the new, Western-friendly incumbent Shehbaz Sharif as he tries to drag his country out of the political and economic crisis. Parliament's election of Sharif, 70, as prime minister on Monday followed a week-long constitutional crisis that reached a climax on Sunday when Khan, 69, lost a no-confidence vote in parliament. His departure from power sparked street protests and the mass resignation of MPs from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in protest at the impending change of government. If…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Pakistan PM Khan suggests he might not accept vote to oust him

WORLD

GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM and ASIF SHAHZAD PAKISTANI Prime Minister Imran Khan suggested that he might not accept a vote to oust him, a move he alleged was being orchestrated by the United States. Opposition parties say Khan has failed to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic or fulfil promises to make his government more transparent and accountable, and have put forward a no-confidence motion due to be voted on Sunday. "How can I accept the result when the entire process is discredited?" Khan told a select group of foreign journalists at his office. "Democracy functions on moral authority…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Rich states haven’t done enough for the environment, Pakistan PM says

WORLD

GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM THE world's richest countries have not done enough to combat global warming, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, adding his country had done more than any other in the world to combat rising emissions relative to its economic means. Pakistan, this year's host of the United Nations' annual World Environment Day on June 5, is among the countries worst affected by climate change, having been regularly hit by devastating floods in recent years, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and destroying swathes of agricultural land. "Has the developed world done enough: The answer is no," Khan…