PTI Opposition Jailed As Trump Embraces Pakistan's Asim Munir

“The government has now declared a state of emergency and imposed governor's rule in the province, effectively removing its elected government from power,” Samdani said in a video.“Just think about what that means: Millions of people voted for their representatives, only to see their elected government stripped of its authority.”

“Everyone saw these pro-democracy protests,” she added.“This is a very transparent attempt to crush them by a military regime that is terrified of its own people.”

Amid mass protests calling for his release, Amnesty International has argued that Pakistani authorities have weaponized criminal proceedings to keep Khan out of power and crack down on dissent.

After the emergency measures went into effect this weekend, the internet monitoring organization NetBlocks reported major disruptions to internet service in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Mobile phone networks have reportedly been disrupted, public transit closed, and several roads across the province shut down.

“Reports of arbitrary detentions of key leaders – including the provincial chief minister – and internet disruptions across the province raise concerns about the proportionality of these emergency measures,” Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International's deputy director for South Asia, said on Sunday following news of the emergency declaration.

“While states may, in strictly limited circumstances, derogate from their human rights obligations to respond to a public emergency that threatens the existence of the nation, emergency measures are not a blank cheque to crack down on human rights, silence dissent, or concentrate power,” he said.

Trump has warmly embraced Munir, the military chief who has overseen the crackdown on Khan and his opposition party, spent recent years consolidating control over Pakistan's armed forces and secured immunity from criminal prosecution.

Munir has regularly been heaped with praise by Trump, who hosted him for an unprecedented two-hour Oval Office meeting last year without any other Pakistani officials. Trump has referred to Munir as“my favorite field marshal,”“a very important guy” and an“exceptional human being.”

In December, the Trump administration approved a $686 million sale to upgrade Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets. Trump has also tapped Munir as a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran amid the US war with Iran.

Hussain Nadim, a Pakistani political analyst and lecturer at George Washington University, has argued that Munir has made himself useful to Trump because it“confers international legitimacy as his military rule faces deep questions at home.”

“Pakistani generals have long understood how to capitalize on American fears, anxieties, and domestic political needs of a wide range of American presidents,” Nadim wrote in August.“Military rulers position themselves around political changes in Washington, knowing urgent American political and security needs can override concerns about democracy and governance in countries like Pakistan.”

Opponents of US intervention, including Samdani, have renewed calls for the US to cut off support for Pakistan's government.