Imran Khan freed from jail

Imran Khan has just been released from jail. His hunger strike is still apparently on, and he has also announced a plan to return to Punjab University, from where he was earlier arrested.

Imran Khan on hunger strike

Imran Khan has begun a hunger strike for the restoration of the judiciary and the constitution. He's being held in the Dera Ghazi Khan jail (in NWFP), and has been charged with treason and terrorism, offenses which carry the death penalty.

Imran may be the last principled person in Pakistan. I may not agree with everything he believes, but I have to give him credit for that.

Imran Khan arrested

Imran Khan has been arrested, as he appeared at a student protest in Lahore (at Punjab University). Sky News, which had been allowed back on briefly, has now been taken off the air because it broadcast an interview with Imran just before he was arrested.

I think this will give the student movement a lot of energy. They love Imran.

Update: The drama behind Imran's arrest is truly revolting. It was the Jamaati students of Punjab University who first captured Imran and kept him in custody on campus (and beat him and his associates up), and then turned him over on a platter to the police. What is more ironic is that just last night I was listening to a radio show (on VOA) in which Imran Khan and Qazi Hussain Ahmed were the guests, and Imran was agreeing quite wholeheartedly with Mr. Jamaat-i-Islami. If nothing else, perhaps this will cure Imran of his mullahism.

Imran Khan on the run

Imran Khan is alive and on the run from intelligence agencies. According to a fascinating article from BBC, he jumped a wall as soon as police came to his house, which is why he's one of the few who got away. I don't know how much longer he can manage this, since he's still in the country (apparently in the Lahore area). This is one of the most recognizable faces we're talking about here, so it won't be easy to move around. You can read the rest of the article here.

Perhaps, in addition to "Go Musharraf Go," the new slogan of martial law resistance can be "Run Imran Run"!

Imran Khan picked up by agencies?

There is intense speculation about the whereabouts of Imran Khan. One rumor has him crossing the Wagah border into India early Monday morning. Another said that Imran Khan was going to surrender of his own accord sometime on Monday. According to his party's Chief Political Secretary however, he has been abducted by the intelligence agencies. Courtesy of an email received by a friend:

This is a message from the Chief Political Secretary of PTI Saifullah Khan Niazi. Imran Khan did not escape house arrest in Lahore as has been reported in electronic media, we are unsure of his whereabouts, and he has likely been kidnapped by the agencies:

“The Chairman Imran Khan was told by the police last night that he is under house arrest. But around 3 am the police brought warrants to take him to prison and at that time it was discovered that he had mysteriously vanished while there were over two dozen policemen surrounding his house. We are not sure where they have taken him as there is no way he could have gone out without the knowledge of the police and he could be in a lot of danger.

Please do note that none of the MMA, MQM, or PPP leaders have been arrested. Aitzaz Ahsan, a leader of the PPP, has been arrested but on the basis of his being president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, not his affiliation with the PPP. Meanwhile, Benazir remains in Karachi but is expected to go to Islamabad tomorrow.