Explained: Pakistan’s travel ban on Imran Khan and what happens next

Pakistan has slapped a travel ban on its former prime minister Imran Khan. Imran on 23 May was granted bail by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan in eight cases related to violence that erupted at the Judicial Complex in March. Imran, who was earlier in May arrested by Pakistani rangers and detained, was released after the Supreme Court called his arrest “invalid and unlawful”. Let’s take a look at the travel ban, how Imran responded and what happens next: What happened? Al Jazeera quoted dpa news agency as saying that Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has placed Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi on the no-fly list. More than 500 members of Imran’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have also been placed on the no-fly list by the agency which handles immigration and border control. “It is a standard practice in every case. All those who face court cases are barred from leaving the country,” one of the officials told dpa. Samaa News channel on Thursday said that the Pakistan government had barred Imran, his wife and at least 80 people from leaving the country. “The federal government has decided to add the names of 80 people, including PTI chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, to the no-fly list,” the report stated. Imran responded by tweeting:

According to Outlook, it is the interior ministry that handles the exit-control list. The list curbs the freedom of individuals from leaving the country over pending court cases or other reasons. Ironically, Imran’s government when it was in power from 2018 to 2022 also levied such bans on Opposition leaders, according to The Wire. What next? The news comes just days after a key aide of Imran announced he was quitting politics in a further blow to the embattled ex-premier’s party as a standoff with the military intensified. Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s resignation is the latest, and highest profile, in a string of departures from Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which the civilian government on Wednesday threatened to ban. “I have decided to take a break from politics, therefore, I have resigned from party position and parting ways from Imran Khan,” Chaudhry said in a post on Twitter.

Some are saying Imran is facing the fate of his predecessors.

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Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior fellow at King’s College London and expert on Pakistan’s military, told Bloomberg this is ‘the end of the road for Imran Khan’ for now. “The question is will they be able to take away his support base?” [caption id=“attachment_12647562” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Amid the ever-changing political landscape, the only permanent force is the military establishment, while the political parties only coexist to share power with it. AFP[/caption] Outlook quoted recent reports as saying that Imran might look to America for political asylum. A Pakistan Peoples Party minister claimed that Imran would do so shortly. Madiha Afzal, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington told Bloomberg the moves against Imran were straight from the military’s playbook. “If this is history repeating itself with the military’s assertiveness,” Afzal said. “it’s not looking good for Imran, his party, or for Pakistan’s democracy.” But others like Tim Willasey-Wilsey, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London, said every step against Imran will only burnish his credentials. Willasey-Wilsey added, “It could also lead to divisions amongst the Corps Commanders who will be anxious about alienating the army from the people - the army will doubtless contemplate intervention options short of a coup, including delaying elections.” Imran says the corruption allegations were fabricated and that his associates are being forced out under duress from the government and the military in a manoeuvre to dismantle his party before elections scheduled later this year. He has been embroiled in a tussle with the military since he was removed from power last year in a parliamentary vote which he says was orchestrated by the country’s top generals. The military denies this. Imran is Pakistan’s most popular leader according to local polls, while the military is its most powerful institution, having ruled directly or overseen governments throughout Pakistan’s 75-year history. On Tuesday, former human rights minister Shireen Mazari announced she was leaving politics, citing health concerns, after spending 12 days in detention. Most of the top leaders of the PTI have been taken into custody. A number of former parliamentarians and mid-tier leaders have quit the party or politics entirely over the last few days. Another key aide, former Finance Minister Asad Umar also announced on Wednesday, hours after he was released from detention, that he was resigning from his party position of secretary general. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters on Wednesday that the government is considering banning the PTI for attacking the “very basis of state” and this could not be tolerated. A ban would be likely to further enrage Imran’s supporters and exacerbate the confrontation with the military establishment. PTI party lawyer Ali Zafar said any such step would be challenged in court. He said an entire party cannot be blamed for acts committed by individuals. Imran, 70, became prime minister in 2018 with the tacit support of the military, though both sides denied it at the time. But he later fell out with the generals after being seen as having tried to interfere in key promotions in the security sphere. After being removed from power last year, Imran has been campaigning for a snap general elections, rallying supporters across the country. But the prime minister who replaced him, Shahbaz Sharif, has rejected calls for a poll ahead of the due date late this year. Imran has said the corruption charges were made up to banish him from politics. He was detained on 9 May but was later freed on bail. In an address on Wednesday, Imran said he would form a negotiating committee that will offer to talk with state authorities to seek a way out of the impasse. He said if that committee was convinced the matter could be resolved by him stepping aside from politics or from not holding snap elections, he would comply. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.