Pakistan Military Bans News Coverage of Imran Khan and Considers Military Court Trial

The Pakistani military held a secret meeting with major media organizations and ordered them to stop covering former Prime Minister Imran Khan amid his ongoing clash with the military. Following the meeting, top editors at news organizations across Pakistan issued directives to their journalists to pause coverage of Khan. The ban was confirmed by more than a half-dozen Pakistani journalists. The recent crisis began when Khan was hit with corruption charges, which he and supporters of his political party claim to be a political exercise aimed at excluding him from politics. Thousands of Khan’s loyalists have been imprisoned in recent weeks, and most of his party leadership has similarly been jailed, released only on the condition they publicly resign from the party.