Ex-Pakistan PM Khan granted bail, free to continue nationwide rallies

ISLAMABAD • Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan was granted bail yesterday on charges brought under the country's anti-terrorism Act, leaving him free to continue his nationwide rallies calling for early elections.

Khan's court appearance is the latest twist in months of political wrangling that began when he was ousted by a vote of no confidence in the national assembly in April.

But the former cricket star retains widespread support, which is only growing the more Pakistan's military-backed establishment manoeuvres to boot him out of politics.

Khan, 69, swept into power in 2018, thanks to an electorate weary of the dynastic politics of the country's two major parties.

Since his ouster, he has sought to rally his supporters in the world's fifth-most-populous country to take to the streets and push for a fresh national vote.

The campaign has been paying off lately, with his party winning key by-elections.

Khan has also drawn tens of thousands of people to rallies in which he rails against Pakistan's military, which has ruled the country for about half of its history and retains outsize influence over elected governments.

At the weekend, Khan gave a fiery speech in the capital Islamabad, lashing out at senior police officials and a judge who were involved in the arrest of one of his aides.

Khan now faces possible arrest over a police complaint related to the speech.

A court judgment was not immediately available, but Mr Fawad Chaudhry - a former information minister and senior party official - said Khan was granted "interim bail" until Sept 1.

"We are not satisfied with this decision. Instead, the court should have quashed the case," he said.

The political crisis comes as officials struggle to deal with record monsoon rains that have flooded a vast swathe of the country.

Figures from the national disaster agency showed 903 people had died in the floods since June, and over 180,000 were forced to flee their rural homes.

The economy is also in free fall, with the country at risk of defaulting on foreign loans unless, as expected, the International Monetary Fund approves the resumption of a US$6 billion (S$8.3 billion) bailout package next week.

The government is looking at ways it can ban Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, from national elections that must be held by late next year.

But a strategy of trying to silence Khan could easily backfire.

On the streets, he has tapped into deep public resentment over a broken economy and a political system beholden to dynasties and unelected power-brokers.

Khan's party also recently notched victories in local elections in the financial capital Karachi and the most-populous province of Punjab, which is often seen as a litmus test of the national mood.

There are also signs that Khan retains plenty of silent allies in the military, even if he has fallen out of favour with army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. Retired army officials have attended pro-Khan rallies in recent months.

Mr Akhil Bery, director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, said: "Imran's fight seems to be with General Bajwa, and not with the military as a whole.

"Of course, the rank and file will continue to support the chief, but that doesn't mean that they can't be supportive of Khan as well."

Support for Khan, especially on social media, is widespread.

Unlike in the past, people are openly criticising the all-powerful military establishment, said Dr Naeem Ahmed, an international relations professor at the University of Karachi.

There are likely elements in the "deep state" that support Khan or at least do not want to box him in, forcing him to fight the military establishment from the outside, added Mr Hasnain Malik, head of equity strategy at Tellimer Dubai, in a note.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG