May 9 riots

Pakistan's overall political climate was significantly impacted by the riots on May 9.[13] A crackdown was initiated against PTI's leaders and workers with thousands arrested; with rights groups raising concern regarding arbitrary arrests, custodial torture, and forced disappearances.[14][15][16] PTI leaders were forced to quit party/party positions in televised press conferences.[17] Businesses of PTI leaders who did not quit the party were sealed.[18][19][20] Family members of PTI leaders who went into hiding were harassed by police and military intelligence forces.[21] In many instances, their houses were broken into late at night and ransacked, valuables were also looted; the dowry for Mian Aslam Iqbal's daughter's wedding was looted by Punjab Police, the homes of Lal Chand Malhi and Ali Nawaz Awan were demolished.[22][23][24][25] A crackdown was also initiated on vocal women supporters of Khan's party - the most prominent of which was Khadija Shah, a businesswoman and granddaughter of former Pakistani Army Chief, Asif Nawaz Janjua.[26][27] Former Federal Ministers, Shehryar Khan Afridi and Ali Muhammad Khan, former Governor Punjab Omer Sarfraz Cheema, and former Punjab provincial ministers, Yasmin Rashid and Mehmood-ur-Rasheed have been incarcerated since the end of the riots. Even once released by courts, they are immediately re-arrested in other cases; Khan has been rearrested 6 times, while Afridi, and Rashid have been rearrested twice.[15][28] [29][30][31] Cheema's wife was arrested as she came to attend her husband's hearing.[32] Afridi wasn't allowed to attend his brother's funeral, and was kept in inhumane conditions in a 'death cell' reserved for those on death row.[33][34]

Mobile internet coverage was suspended as riots spread throughout the country on 9th May. The ban effected gig workers, including those working for Uber, FoodPanda, and Careem, as well as freelancers and remote workers who relied on mobile internet.[35] It was estimated that during the 3 days mobile internet remained suspended, Pakistan's telecom companies bore a loss of Rs. 2.49 billion (US$8.6 million), while the country's software export industry lost Rs. 10 billion (US$35 million).[36] The internet was fully restored across the country on 13 May 2023.[37] The ban was criticized by GSMA as it urged to restore internet services in the country.[38]

Access to social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, was also restricted in the aftermath of the riots.[39] Both the blockage of internet and social media were implemented by Pakistan Telecom Authority after a notification for the same was issued by the interior ministry, under Rana Sanaullah.[40] Access to social media was fully restored by 16 May 2023.[41] However, the government has hinted at another social media blockage with defense minister, Khawaja Asif, claiming that "the script of the May 9 violence was prepared via social media”.[42]

Several leading media houses were called to a secret meeting by Pakistan Army in which they were directed to ban all coverage of Imran Khan.[43] Resultantly, Khan's name disappeared overnight from all local print and electronic media, with journalists euphemistically referring to him as "Qasim ke Abba" (Qasim's father) as the moniker became a top twitter trend in Pakistan.[44][45]

Journalists that were seen as aligned with PTI were targeted. Imran Riaz Khan, one of the most popular journalists on Pakistani social media, was kidnapped from outside Sialkot Central Jail on 11 May 2023 after being initially detained by Punjab Police.[46] He has since remained missing as the chief of Punjab Police, Usman Anwar, put the blame on military agencies for his disappearance in front of Lahore High Court, and expressed his inability to locate the journalist.[47] Another prominent journalist, Sami Ibrahim, head of Bol News was picked up from Islamabad on 24 May 2023 before being released on 30 May 2023.[48][49] Reporters without Borders and International Federation of Journalists raised concern over the abductions.[47][50]

In the immediate aftermath, the administration attempted to transfer a number of cases to military courts for trial due to the seriousness of the crimes committed during the May 9 riots. Four accused people involved in targeting defense sites had their transfer allowed by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad, while eight accused people involved in the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) had their transfer granted by an ATC in Rawalpindi. Additionally, the commanding officer received 16 suspects, among them an ex-PTI Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA), who was charged with looting and vandalizing Corp Commander House in Lahore.[51][52][53]

Later, trials of as many as 102 defendants, who were deemed to be involved in attacks on military installation, were transferred from anti-terrorism courts to military courts.[54] The movie drew widespread criticism as military courts have been deemed as opaque systems shrouded in secrecy with little regard for human rights and legal due process by both the United Nations and International Commission of Jurists.[55][56] Several constitutional petitions were made before the Supreme Court of Pakistan to declare the trials unconstitutional, including by the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Jawwad S. Khawaja, who deemed it as "militarization of justice".[57][58] Pakistan People's Party leader and prominent lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, was also one of the petitioners as he considered the move as "a complete anathema to the constitutional separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary, the inalienable right of every Pakistani to be treated in accordance with law, and the fundamental rights of life, liberty, fair trial, and due process”.[59] Imran Khan, also filed a civil petition separately.[60] The petitions have been clubbed together into a military courts case with a 6-member Supreme Court larger bench hearing it.[61]

The legal fraternity, particularly those demanding the upholding of the constitution of Pakistan and cessation of trials of civilians in military courts, were also targeted. A prominent lawyer, Uzair Bhandari, was abducted and later released after he left Imran Khan's residence after consulting with him on the matter of military courts.[62] The house of Advocate Latif Khosa, former Governor of Punjab, was attacked by armed men after he made a speech against the interim government in Punjab and the trial of civilians in military courts.[63][64]