Quote (Goomshill @ Aug 21 2022 11:58pm)

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/world/asia/pakistan-imran-khan.html

Back in April, populist and outsider PM Imran Khan of Pakistan was ousted in a no-confidence vote, ending his term. In the months since, he's been actively campaigning and holding large public rallies in support of his party and regaining popularity and scoring a significant victory in the last round of provincial votes. But in the past month, the state police have moved against him and his party. First his chief of staff Shahbaz Gill was arrested and imprisoned under charges of treason after giving a statement on ARY TV that if soldiers were given "illegal orders" by bureaucrats or state officials, they should refuse them. He now faces the death penalty, and a viral video emerged apparently showing that he had been tortured in detention, appearing in court in a wheelchair and oxygen mask. Imran Khan started giving speeches denouncing the torture of his top aide, but the government moved quickly and shut down his social media access in the middle of a speech, blocking youtube entirely in the country. When able to give statements to journalists afterwards, he said he was being censored by the government to stop his campaigning. The Pakistani electronic media regulator announced the ban, saying they were citing "hate speech" against state institutions. And the ARY TV station that aired the interview was raided and had their broadcast license revoked and its director arrested. Today and in the past hour, police raided the home of Imran Khan, and as crowds gathered in support of Khan and protesting against the FBI state police, it was announced that Imran Khan has been arrested and charged under anti-terrorism laws