Khan, who was PM when Kashmir autonomy was scrapped, has been jailed in a corruption case for three years and barred from politics for five.
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir – The arrest and imprisonment of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in a corruption case has angered many in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Ghulam Mohammad, 70, told Al Jazeera he was in disbelief at seeing the turn of events in a country that claims Kashmir in its entirety and has been supporting a struggle for self-determination on the Indian side.
A resident of Srinagar’s Habba Kadal area, Mohammad said it was the second time in the past year he felt anguished after seeing his favoured leader being “ill-treated” which he believed “Khan doesn’t deserve”.
“I am at a loss for words. I don’t know what to say any more,” he said, sitting in his small room on the second floor of his house and watching the updates from Pakistan on his mobile phone.
This time though, Mohammad was mentally ready to see the action against Khan without endangering his health. It wasn’t the case last year.
On the evening of April 10, 2022, soon after Khan was removed as prime minister after he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament, Mohammad complained of chest pain and was rushed to a hospital where the doctors said he had suffered a “mild heart attack” due to stress.
“I got very upset when I heard that Khan had been removed from office,” Mohammad told Al Jazeera.
Anger over Khan crackdown
Khan, who served as prime minister between 2018 and 2022, was charged in nearly 150 cases after his removal, including corruption and “terrorism”. The charges came after he blamed the country’s powerful “establishment” – a euphemism for the powerful military which also dabbles in politics – for his removal.
Finally, after a series of court appearances and a brief arrest in May, a court in capital Islamabad on Saturday sentenced the cricketing legend-turned-politician to three years in prison in a case related to the non-declaration of gifts he received from foreign leaders and governments when he was the premier.
