Pakistan's government has issued a stark warning of potential treason charges against imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, with penalties carrying the possibility of death or life imprisonment, as tensions with the military establishment reach a boiling point. Senator and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advisor, Rana Sanaullah, declared on Monday that such cases "cannot be ruled out," urging PTI leaders to heed the caution to avoid "serious consequences." The statement follows a week of high-stakes confrontations, including blocked family visits and public rebukes from military spokespersons.
The escalation stems from Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry's recent press conference, where he branded Khan a "national security threat" for fostering an "anti-army" narrative that allegedly endangers the state. Chaudhry accused PTI of amplifying terrorist propaganda, linking it to incidents like the March Jaffer Express hijacking, and dismissed Khan's mindset as "delusional." A viral video from the event showed Chaudhry winking at a female journalist after calling Khan a "mental patient," drawing widespread condemnation for unprofessional conduct. Sanaullah endorsed the military's position, interpreting a recent jail-posted social media message from Khan as "inflammatory" and warning that PTI's rallies could provoke forceful responses.
On Tuesday, Khan's sisters, Uzma and Aleema Khanum, were denied access to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi despite a court-mandated visiting day, prompting a sit-in protest outside the facility. Police barricaded all approach roads, citing procedural delays, while the sisters alleged ongoing torture and illegal isolation, marking the eighth month of restricted family meetings. PTI leaders joined the demonstration, demanding independent medical evaluations and condemning the blockade as psychological warfare against the 73-year-old leader, who has been incarcerated since August 2023.
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Under Pakistan's Article 6, treason encompasses abrogating or subverting the Constitution through unconstitutional means, a charge that led to the death sentence—later commuted—for former dictator Pervez Musharraf in 2019 for his 2007 emergency imposition. Sanaullah likened PTI's trajectory to a "jail-centric movement," predicting internal fractures and accusing Khan of rejecting reconciliation offers from Sharif, while sources indicate deliberations on banning the party outright over alleged foreign funding and security risks. The rhetoric echoes historical patterns of labeling opponents as traitors, as noted by analyst Zahid Hussain in Dawn, underscoring the entrenched civil-military power dynamics.
The threats unfold against Field Marshal Asim Munir's recent empowerment via the November 2025 27th Constitutional Amendment, which grants him lifelong immunity, oversight of all defence forces, and unchecked tenure as the inaugural Chief of Defence Forces. Khan's feud with Munir traces to 2019, when he ousted the then-ISI chief after eight months, evolving into mutual accusations of tyranny and mental instability. Amid surging insurgencies in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, plus Khan's 14-year sentence in the Al-Qadir Trust case and Cipher leaks, the standoff risks plunging Pakistan into deeper instability.
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