Pakistan Urged to Cease Using ‘Abusive Measures’ Against Imran Khan’s Supporters

Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan gather outside Khan's house to prevent riot police officers from arresting him, in Lahore, Pakistan, on March 14, 2023. Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Pakistan’s authorities to refrain from using “abusive measures” against supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan as protests escalated in the country.

HRW said on Tuesday that police had charged protesters with batons and detained them under “sweeping counterterrorism laws.” Nearly 200 people have been arrested for arson, vandalism, and attacks on police.

“The use of Pakistan’s vague and overbroad anti-terrorism provisions against opposition protesters is very worrying,” Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at HRW, said in a statement.

“If the authorities believe that Khan’s or his supporters’ actions have resulted in violence or constituted a real threat to public safety, they should be charged under the appropriate laws,” Gossman added.

HRW stated that “dozens” of members of Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including Khan, have been charged with “terrorism offenses, criminal intimidation, rioting, and assault” on authorities following clashes outside a courthouse in Islamabad on March 18.

“It is vitally important for the police to respect the right to peaceful assembly while holding those responsible for unlawful violence to account,” Gossman said.

Khan’s supporters have clashed with police over recent days as authorities try to force the PTI leader to appear in court on corruption charges. HRW said that police used teargas and rubber bullets against protesters while his supporters threw sticks and stones.

Parliament Summoned

The Pakistani Parliament was called on Wednesday to “take important decisions” regarding the enforcement of the writ of the state, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), though it was unclear why the meeting was held.

The APP, reporting on a meeting attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Cabinet, cited the participants as saying Khan’s PTI was not a political party but “rather a gang of militants” and its “enmity against the state” could not be tolerated.

Khan has denounced the authorities’ actions against his supporters as “fascism” in the country and called for the immediate release of all PTI workers and their children who have allegedly been abducted.

“Fascism at unprecedented levels with police in Islamabad raiding homes without warrants to abduct PTI workers. Where the worker is not present, children as young as 10 [years old] are picked up,” he wrote on Twitter.

Khan also asked Pakistan’s chief justice to allow him to participate in court sessions virtually as his life was in danger, according to reports.

Security personnel climb on a vehicle carrying former Prime Minister Imran Khan as it moves toward Islamabad at a road in Lahore, Pakistan, on March 18, 2023. K.M. Chaudary/AP Photo

“The Islamabad judicial complex was full of police and Rangers. Yet there were unidentified men stationed there. As I reached the court, my associate came running towards me and told me to reverse the car and leave. He said it was a trap,” he said in a video address.

Police attempted to arrest Khan on March 14 at his residence for failing to appear in court, but it led to hours-long clashes between police and Khan’s supporters. Khan claimed the arrest attempt was illegal as he had secured a protective bail from the court.

Khan has demanded a snap election during protest rallies he has held across Pakistan since his ouster from office last year. The demands have been rejected by his successor Sharif, who has said that the vote would be held as scheduled later this year.

In one of those rallies, Khan was wounded in a gunshot attack on Nov. 3, 2022, that he claimed was an “assassination attempt” by his rivals. One of his supporters was also killed in the rally.

Reuters contributed to this report.