China's Military Power Struggle: Xi Jinping's Purge of the PLA Leadership

Recent years have witnessed the senior ranks of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) being cleaned out. China’s Defence Ministry stunned the world and observers after it announced that Zhang Youxia, its most senior and trusted military commander, was placed under investigation for ‘serious disciplinary and legal violations’. The purging of China’s top general also raises serious questions about what triggered the elite power struggle unfolding in the nation. However, Zhang is far from the only senior PLA leader to fall from grace. Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, has almost purged the entire top tier of Beijing’s military leadership in recent years. It is also said that, since becoming China’s top leader in 2012, Jinping has rewritten the PLA’s power dynamics. Let’s take a closer look at Xi’s sweep of the PLA, how it has created a vacuum at the highest strategic levels of China’s armed forces, and what the impact of this could be: Imran Khan's sons, Sulaiman Isa and Kasim Khan, claim Pakistani authorities are blocking their visas, preventing them from visiting their ailing father in prison. Kasim Khan has called for international intervention, alleging Imran Khan is held in solitary confinement without family access or independent medical care. The brothers, who live in London, say the government is withholding details about Imran Khan's health, following his recent eye procedure at a hospital. Get the latest stories delivered straight to your inbox.