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Is Imran Khan Becoming Too Powerful For Asim Munir?
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00:08Can a social media giant be held responsible for making children addicted to the platforms
00:13designed to keep them scrolling? And while Meta battles allegations of exploiting young users,
00:19Pakistan's military establishment faces a very different threat, Imran Khan, and now the Supreme
00:25Court. Tonight, two stories about power, control, and accountability. One sees Meta defending
00:32algorithms, infinite scroll, and notifications in a landmark child safety trial. The other sees
00:39Pakistan's powerful military establishment struggling to contain Khan as the court opens a
00:44crack in the walls around him. One battle is over attention, the other is over political power.
00:50So what happens when control begins to slip? Hello and welcome, you're watching Statecraft
00:55with me Geeta Mohan. The UAE has suspended all trade with Iran. All commercial exchanges and
01:01financial transactions with Tehran have been halted. The move comes after the UAE detected
01:06two ballistic missiles launched from Iran according to the UAE Defense Ministry. The ministry says the
01:13missiles were heading towards the country. The UAE says the missiles were targeting maritime traffic.
01:19One missile fell outside Emirati territorial waters. The second fell inside the UAE's territorial waters.
01:26So far, there are no reports of casualties or damage. But Tehran has rejected the UAE's claims.
01:32Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghai has denied that Iran launched the missiles.
01:38He has called the allegations baseless. Baghai says the UAE's decision goes against the principle
01:43of good neighborliness. He also accused the UAE of disrupting efforts to build trust among
01:49regional countries. But there's a larger question here. This comes amid an already escalating
01:55conflict involving Iran, the United States of America and Israel. Iran has consistently framed
02:00its military actions as retaliation. Retaliation for attacks by the US and Israel, not as an attempt
02:06to provoke the Gulf states. Even before this latest UAE-Iran escalation, Donald Trump had weighed
02:12in on the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on Truth Social, Trump depicted the strategic waterway
02:18as new US territory. Now, with the UAE suspending economic ties with Iran, their conflict is opening
02:24another front, a diplomatic and economic front, and the stakes are rising far beyond the battlefield.
02:39Meta is facing a $200 billion lawsuit over one explosive claim. It is making children addicted
02:45to social media. What if the most expensive scroll in history ends up costing Meta $200 billion?
02:52That is the number now hanging over the company behind Instagram and Facebook as California, Colorado,
02:58Kentucky and New Jersey take Meta to the first bellwether federal trial over claims that it
03:04deliberately designed its platforms to keep children hooked. And the states are not saying
03:10kids use social media too much. That would be a much smaller fight. They're saying Meta knew young
03:17users were vulnerable, knew certain features encouraged compulsive use and still built its products
03:23around keeping them online while telling families the platforms were safe. Meta says the case is
03:31unsubstantiated. It says it has safeguards. It even says social media addiction does not exist in the
03:37way the states describe it. So is this really a case about children spending too much time online
03:43or about whether Meta turned attention itself into the product? Let's start with a number that makes
03:49this case impossible to ignore. $200 billion. Why are four states asking for that kind of money?
03:57Because they say this is not one isolated mistake. The lawsuit is part of a much bigger legal battle
04:03involving thousands of cases filed by states, school districts and individuals against Meta and other
04:10social media companies. The states accuse Meta of violating child privacy laws and consumer protection
04:17laws while deliberately designing features that encouraged compulsive use. If they win,
04:24they say the damages could approach $200 billion. At the valuation cited in court filings,
04:32that would be nearly 14% of Meta's entire stock value. Social media has become the digital town square for
04:39adolescents. A 2023 advisory from the US Surgeon General reveals that nearly 95% of American teenagers are
04:47active on at least one platform. While Pew Research finds that 97% engage with the internet every single day.
04:56But here's the figure that really matters. 40% of these young users describe themselves as being online
05:03almost constantly. For Instagram, that constant pull affects 12% of teens compared to 3% for Facebook.
05:12These numbers confirm that the states are not just nitpicking a hobby. They're challenging design
05:18choices that dictate the social reality for an entire generation. And here's where the case gets
05:24even more uncomfortable for Meta. The age question. The states say children below the official age limits
05:30were still getting onto these platforms. One figure cited in the material is especially striking.
05:3664% of 11 and 12 year olds report using social media, with those children averaging about 3.4%
05:44social
05:44media accounts. California's lawyer went even further in court claiming Meta found millions of
05:5011 and 12 year olds on Instagram and did little to keep them off. Meta strongly disputed that number,
05:57saying it found just over a hundred thousand such users. That disagreement matters because it goes
06:03directly to one of the biggest allegations. Did Meta merely fail to keep children out? Or did it
06:09knowingly allow a young audience to become part of the business? So what exactly did Meta allegedly
06:15build that makes the state so angry? Not just an app, a loop. Infinite scroll removes the natural
06:23stopping point. Autoplay decides what comes next. Recommendations keep feeding users more content.
06:29Notifications pull them back. Likes, comments, and followers turn social approval into something
06:36that can be counted, watched, and chased. And the states argue that these features become especially
06:43dangerous when the user is a child. Think about the difference between a television show and an endless
06:49feed. A television episode ends. The credits roll, the machine practically tells you,
06:55mate, go to bed. Infinite scroll does the opposite. There is no obvious finish line. There is always
07:02another post, another video, another notification, another reason to check. The states argue that Meta
07:09understood what those features could do. California's lawyer put the alleged business logic even more
07:16bluntly. Hook the users, hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data, hide the truth from the
07:23public. That is the state's narrative in one sentence. And it explains why this case is bigger than the
07:29usual argument about kids and screen time. Every company wants people to use its product. Nobody buys
07:37a streaming service hoping you watch one episode and immediately delete the app. There's a reason the
07:43states are focusing so heavily on compulsive use. Social media use can create a simple behavioral loop. A
07:50notification triggers you. You open the app, something interesting appears, you get a social reward, and your brain
07:56learns that checking the app can produce something rewarding. Then boredom hits, or anxiety, or FOMO, fear of
08:04missing out. You check again, then again. The important point is not that every teenager who scrolls is
08:10addicted. They're not. The state's argument is that certain designs can encourage addiction-like or
08:17compulsive patterns, particularly among vulnerable young users. But Meta has a powerful counter-argument.
08:23Its lawyer Paul Schmidt has said there's no dispute that some people struggle with social media. But he
08:29argues the states have not proved that Meta deliberately designed its platforms to be addictive. The company also
08:36says it has put protections in place. Instagram teen accounts limit who can contact underage users. Data
08:43is private by default. Parents can set time limits. So if Meta knew these products could cause problems,
08:49were the safeguards enough? The states clearly do not think so. They want changes to the actual design
08:56of Facebook and Instagram. They've asked for bans on infinite scrolling, autoplay, and like buttons for
09:02users under 18 years of age. They also want restrictions on beauty filters and engagement
09:09optimized algorithms that send users toward additional content. That is significant because
09:15it moves the fight away from how do we want children and toward should the product itself be redesigned.
09:23And Meta already has plenty of reasons to take that seriously. In March, Meta and YouTube were found
09:29liable in a California personal injury case where a young woman received $6 million in damages.
09:36So this is not some theoretical courtroom nuisance. The legal bills are real, the verdicts are real,
09:42and the number of lawsuits is enormous. There's also a very human side to this courtroom battle.
09:48Parents and child safety advocates gathered outside the court as the trial began. Some carried
09:53photographs of children they said suffered or died because of social media related harms.
09:59Several parents say they saw that as a system that protected corporations instead of children.
10:05That is why this case carries emotional weight far beyond a balance sheet. So if a child spends six
10:12hours scrolling, is that entirely the child's responsibility? Is it the parents, the schools,
10:18or does some responsibility sit with the company that designed the feed, the notifications,
10:23the recommendations, and the endless stream of content? The states want the answer to be yes.
10:30Meta wants the answer to be no. And that is why this $200 billion case matters. Because if the state
10:37proves that Meta did not simply build a popular product but knowingly designed systems that exploited
10:42young users' vulnerabilities, the consequences will not stop at one company or one verdict. The question
10:49facing Silicon Valley would change completely. It would no longer be, is social media harmful? It would be,
10:56what did you know? What did you build? What did you tell people? And how much money did you make
11:02by
11:03keeping them hooked? Because if the court decides that companies can be held responsible for deliberately
11:09designing addictive experiences for children, the attention economy suddenly has a very expensive
11:16problem. And $200 billion may just be the opening bill. Pakistan's power struggle has entered a new
11:24phase. And this time, the battlefield is not parliament. It is not the streets. It is a hospital.
11:30Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of jail former Prime Minister Imran Khan from Adi
11:35Alla Jail to Islamabad's Shifa International Hospital. His family has finally been allowed to meet him. His wife
11:42Bushra Bibi and sister Noreen Khan have seen him after months. But Islamabad is fighting back. Pakistan's
11:50law minister says the government will challenge the hospital transfer order. And that raises a much bigger
11:56question. Why is the government so determined to keep a 73-year-old former prime minister inside prison?
12:02Is this really about prison rules and medical procedures? Or is there something much bigger at
12:07stake? Because Imran Khan is not just another prisoner. He remains the biggest political headache for
12:14Pakistan's powerful military establishment. And particularly for Field Marshal Asa Munir.
12:20Supreme Court's order was clear. Imran Khan is to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital.
12:24A medical board will examine him. And crucially, that board can include one of his personal doctors,
12:31Faisal Sultan. The court also ordered weekly meetings with his family and telephone calls
12:36with his sons living abroad. For Khan's supporters, this was a major breakthrough.
12:42And then came something even more significant. Khan finally met his sister Noreen. She was allowed into
12:48Adi Alla Jail after authorities had blocked his sisters from visiting him for months.
12:53She briefed him about the Supreme Court order and asked about his health. Then came another meeting.
13:00Bushra Bibi met her husband for around half an hour. This was the first time in months that Khan had
13:06been allowed such direct family contact. But Islamabad did not celebrate the court order. It challenged it.
13:13Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar says the government will file a review petition. His argument is
13:19straightforward. Prison rules require a medical board to decide whether an inmate can be treated inside
13:26jail or needs hospitalization. And if hospitalization is required, prisoners are generally sent to government
13:34hospitals. So why send Imran Khan to a private hospital? That is the government's question. But there's
13:41another question. Will the same privilege be available to every prisoner? That is the government's public argument.
13:47Yet the timing is impossible to ignore. Because Khan's family and party have been demanding his transfer and
13:53access to his personal doctors for months. And Khan's health has become a major political issue. His family
14:00previously claimed that he had lost most of the vision in his right eye. The government disputed that
14:06claim and later said his eyesight had improved. But concerns over his medical condition have continued.
14:12Now after months of legal battles, the Supreme Court has stepped in. For Imran Khan, this is more than a
14:17medical victory. It is a crack in the wall surrounding him. Because for months, the system has tried to
14:23control who can see him, who can treat him, and how often his family can meet him or not at
14:29all. The
14:30Supreme Court has now pushed back against that system. But here is where the story gets much bigger.
14:37Imran Khan has been behind bars since August of 2023. He faces a huge number of cases. Toshah Khanna,
14:44Al-Qadir Trust, the Cipher case, the May 9th violence, marriage-related charges. His supporters say the
14:51cases are politically motivated. The establishment says Khan is facing the consequences of his actions.
14:57But the real story is not simply whether Imran Khan is guilty or innocent. It is the system built
15:03around him. Because Khan's biggest confrontation was never really with one political party. It was with
15:09Pakistan's military establishment. And at the center of that establishment today sits Field Marshal Asim Munir.
15:15Munir and Khan have history. Khan had once sidelined then Lieutenant General Asim Munir as ISI chief.
15:23Munir waited. Then Khan's government fell in 2022. The relationship between Khan and the military
15:29deteriorated further. And after Khan's arrest, thousands of his supporters came into the streets.
15:35Then came the moment the army could never tolerate. Military installations were attacked during the 9th of
15:42May protests. Pakistan's establishment, that was the ultimate red line. Khan had gone from being a former
15:48prime minister to a direct political challenge to the military. The crackdown followed. Arrests followed,
15:55cases multiplied, and Khan ended up back in prison, fighting one legal battle after another.
16:01Now Munir sits at the peak of Pakistan's power. He has been elevated to Field Marshal. He commands the
16:06country's military establishment and wields enormous influence. But that power comes with a problem.
16:13Imran Khan is still there. Still politically relevant. Still capable of mobilizing supporters.
16:19And now the Supreme Court has given him a legal opening. That is why the hospital order matters.
16:25Because every concession to Khan creates space for him. A hospital means access to doctors. Family
16:31meetings mean communication. Phone calls mean contact with his sons and potentially the outside world.
16:37And a medical board creates another layer of oversight. For the government, therefore, this is
16:44not simply about a hospital bed. It is about control. Who controls Imran Khan? The prison authorities?
16:49The government? The military establishment? Or the courts? And that is where Asa Munir may have caught a
16:56tiger by the tail. Because keeping Imran Khan imprisoned indefinitely carries risks. But releasing
17:02him carries even bigger ones. Khan remains one of Pakistan's most popular political figures.
17:08His party still has a mass following and any perception that the establishment is backing down
17:14could energize his supporters. But keeping him locked away has its own danger. Pakistan is already
17:20dealing with economic pressure, political instability and security challenges. If Khan's health deteriorates
17:27inside prison, the political consequences could be explosive. If he is moved to hospital, his supporters
17:34could see it as the beginning of his political comeback. And that leaves Munir with a very difficult
17:39choice. He cannot easily release Imran Khan, but he cannot necessarily keep him buried in prison forever.
17:46Every court order creates a new complication. Every family meeting creates a new political moment.
17:52Every health scare creates another reason for the courts to intervene.
17:57This is why the Supreme Court's latest order could prove far more important than it first appears.
18:02It has not freed Imran Khan, it has not ended his cases, but it has challenged the establishment's
18:08control over his confinement. And that is precisely what makes this dangerous for Islamabad.
18:13Because the Imran Khan problem is no longer just about Imran Khan. It is about the limits of military power.
18:19It is about the independence of Pakistan's institutions. And it is about whether one man can remain
18:25imprisoned indefinitely without becoming an even bigger political force outside the prison walls.
18:32Asa Munir may have enormous power today, but power always creates its own trap. He has caught a tiger by
18:38the tail.
18:39He cannot let Imran Khan go easily and he cannot keep him locked away forever without consequences.
18:45The Supreme Court has now entered the fight. Khan's family has regained access. His lawyers have gained
18:51momentum and the government is preparing another legal battle. The prison walls around Imran Khan may
18:58still be standing, but they are no longer as impenetrable as they were. And for Pakistan's most powerful man,
19:05that could be the beginning of a much bigger problem.
19:10That's all in this edition of Statecraft. But before we go, Donald Trump may be getting ready
19:14for another reunion with an old friend, North Korea's Kim Jong-un. Reports say Trump is pushing
19:21aides to arrange a face-to-face summit as early as November, possibly during his expected trip to China
19:26for the APEC summit. And the timing is quite something. Days after announcing a cutback in
19:32a joint U.S.-South Korea military exercise, Trump reportedly pointed to his relationship with Kim
19:37Jong-un. No meeting is confirmed and Pyongyang has yet to agree. The White House says Trump and Kim
19:44will meet at an appropriate time. The two leaders have already met three times from the historic 2018
19:50Singapore summit to the abrupt 2019 Hanoi meeting, which ended without a deal. So is Trump-Kim season 4 on
19:58the
19:58cards? Who knows? Goodbye and take care.
20:20to see you next week?
20:20that was I'm
20:20bye
20:202
20:202
20:212
20:21You
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