What’s the dispute between Imran Khan and the Pakistan government about?

Tensions between former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and the current coalition government are coming to a head.

Khan made a speech in the northern city of Rawalpindi near Islamabad on Sunday, August 21, seeking a return to office after losing a no-confidence vote in April and being ousted as prime minister. Just hours beforehand, Pakistan’s electronic media regulator prohibited Khan’s rallies from being broadcast live on all satellite TV channels.

As he started his address, which was being broadcast on social media, YouTube experienced “disruptions”. This prompted Khan to accuse the government of attempting to silence him.

Following this, Pakistani police laid charges of terrorism against Khan for comments he had made in a speech about the judiciary a day earlier in Islamabad.

Previously, the government had been quite permissive of Khan’s rallies, but this approach appears to have changed.

So how did we get here?

Khan’s narrative

Since March this year, even before he was ousted, Khan has held numerous rallies, gatherings and social media activities to present his narrative to the Pakistani people locally and overseas.

He has accused, without evidence, the coalition government of working at the behest of the United States. He has labelled the government an “imported government” and popularised the hashtag “imported government na Manzoor” (the imported government is unacceptable).

Khan has also levelled varying degrees of criticism against the judiciary, bureaucracy and media for enabling the coalition government’s return to power in April.

In contrast, he portrays himself as a good Muslim, someone who is following in the footsteps of the founder of the country, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and as being knowledgeable about the West, honest and incorruptible.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/whats-the-dispute-between-imran-khan-and-the-pakistan-government-about-189128