EXPLAINER
Nationwide unrest on this “dark day” last year sparked a months-long political crisis that saw former Prime Minister Imran Khan jailed and a crackdown on his party.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has scheduled protests across the country on Thursday to mark one year since the arrest of its leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Cricketer-turned-politician Khan was arrested on that day last year, triggering a months-long political crisis, which saw the PTI chief jailed again in August on several serious charges and a government crackdown on his party. .
Khan, 71, remains involved in a series of cases in which he has been convicted and is currently detained in Adiala jail in the city of Rawalpindi.
Here is a summary of the lead-up to Khan's arrest on May 9, 2023, and the key events that have occurred since then:
2022
April 10th: Khan loses a vote of no confidence in parliament, forcing his removal from power. He alleges a US-backed conspiracy to fire him. His rival Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party becomes prime minister. The United States has denied any role in Khan's removal from power.
October 21: Pakistan's Election Commission disqualifies Khan as a member of parliament after finding him guilty of “corrupt practices,” two months after he was charged in the state gifts case, which relates to the alleged sale of gifts he received from foreign countries when was in power.
November 3: An attempt is made to assassinate Khan while he leads a protest in the city of Wazirabad, in the province of Punjab, to demand early elections.
2023
May 9: Khan is arrested in a corruption case while appearing in court in the capital Islamabad, sparking nationwide protests by his supporters who blame the military for orchestrating the arrest. The military has consistently denied any role in Khan's legal or political problems.
May 11: Amid deadly PTI-led protests, Pakistan's Supreme Court says Khan's arrest is illegal and orders his immediate release.
may 17th: Authorities allege that Khan is hiding the May 9 rioters at his Lahore residence. Pakistan's National Security Committee approves the army's decision to try arrested protesters in military courts.
August 5: Police arrest Khan in Lahore after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.
6th August: Pakistan's electoral panel bans Khan from politics for five years following his conviction in the state donations case.
August 9: President Arif Alvi dissolves the country's National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, paving the way for elections.
August 14: A caretaker government under Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar takes power.
20th of August: Khan's close aide and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is arrested in the state secrets or encryption case, which concerns the leak of a secret diplomatic cable that Khan claims proves his accusation that the United States was involved in his removal from power.
October 21: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, elder brother of Shehbaz Sharif, returns to Pakistan from his self-exile in the United Kingdom. A few days after his arrival, the Islamabad High Court grants him bail in several corruption cases.
October 24th: A five-member panel of the Supreme Court declares military trial of civilians in the May 9 cases unconstitutional.
November 21: Islamabad High Court declares Khan's prison trial illegal, quashing his charge in the cipher case.
December 14th: A six-member chamber of the Supreme Court considers an appeal by the government against its ruling of October 24. This allows the May 9 military trial of the defendants to continue.
2024
January 13th: Khan's PTI is banned from using the iconic cricket bat symbol for not holding intra-party elections. PTI-backed candidates are forced to contest elections as independents.
January 30th: Khan is sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Cypher case.
January 31: A Rawalpindi court sentences Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 14 years in prison in the state donations case.
February 3rd: Another court in Rawalpindi sentences Khan and Bibi to seven years in prison, ruling that their marriage violated Islamic law.
February 8th: Pakistan holds parliamentary and provincial elections. The PTI alleges widespread electoral fraud, allegations the government denies.
February 13th: PMLN and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), along with other allies, form the government even as PTI-backed MPs emerge as the largest bloc in parliament.
March 11th: Police arrest more than 100 PTI supporters protesting against alleged electoral fraud.
April 1st: Islamabad High Court suspends jail terms of Khan and Bibi in state donations case.
May 8: Bibi, who was under house arrest at Khan's Bani Gala residence in Islamabad, is shifted to Adiala jail.
