Achi news desk-
Former prime minister and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has reiterated that the military establishment was keen to get rid of him, permanently, but that he was not afraid of death.
Imran Khan has managed to “write” another opinion piece from his Adiala Jail cell, this time for the British publication The Telegraphnoting that since his removal from power in April 2022, the military establishment, which he accused of directly controlling the government, had tried “every tactic to destroy” his party’s presence in Pakistani politics, but instead had pushing Pakistan towards a “dangerous crossroads”.
He claimed that every tactic used by the military establishment and the ‘puppet’ government to keep him and his party away from mainstream politics has so far failed.
“Repression, torture and the denial of our electoral symbol have been widely documented, but nothing has worked for the military and the powerless civilian leadership acting as its puppets,” read the article, and listed Imran Khan as the author.
“Pakistan’s general elections on February 8 2024 showed a complete failure of their design.”
He claimed that an overwhelming majority of voters had come out to vote overwhelmingly for his party’s candidates even though his party had been denied a single electoral symbol (and therefore understood the right to contest the elections as a single party) in the elections.
Calling it ‘democratic revenge’ (borrowing the term from his political rival, President Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party), Imran said the public was trying to defeat the agenda of the military establishment in an act of national defiance but also “reject the official state narrative on May 9, 2023.”
It is pertinent to note that Imran’s piece comes days before the first anniversary of May 9, 2023, when Imran was briefly arrested by the paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in Islamabad, sparking widespread anger and protests, leading to violence where a number of state and military installations were targeted across the country triggering a national campaign against the PTI.
Imran alleged that PTI supporters were falsely accused of being involved in violent incidents on May 9, 2023, when several military installations were directly attacked by PTI supporters.
“Instead of accepting the mandate of the people, the military establishment went into a fit of rage and election results were manipulated to bring the losers to power,” Imran alleged.
He added that the interference of votes seen during the February 8, 2024 general elections was seen again during the recent by-elections.
Imran warned that the military establishment and the government’s actions had brought the country to a “dangerous crossroads.”
“The people have shown in no uncertain terms that they reject the electoral machinations of the state and the repression, imprisonment and torture of not only the PTI leadership but also its workers,” he said.
“The military leadership has been the subject of obvious criticism on a level not seen before in our history. The government is full of laughter.”
Imran claimed that the state’s response to public anger has been further repression and the use of violence against party workers, journalists and human rights defenders.
He said, “Social media restrictions have been put in place, with a total ban on the ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) platform.”
However, Imran claimed that a “systematic attempt” had been made to destroy the independent functioning of the judiciary at all levels.
“Judges have been subjected to all kinds of pressure, including blackmail and harassment of family members. As a result, our trials on trumped-up charges are conducted with no proper defense and no concern for the law of the land and the composition,” he said. allegedly, accusing the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court of failing to deliver impartial justice.
“Six brave judges of the Islamabad High Court have written a letter to the CJP highlighting cases of harassment and blackmail, including of their families, by intelligence agencies. Specific cases are cited and details given, ” he said, referring to the letter from the judges for whom the Supreme Court has since taken suo moto notice.
Imran claimed that the letter was unprecedented in the history of Pakistan, as no one had previously disclosed what many informally knew was happening.
“The sorry state of judicial affairs is reflected in the hesitation shown by the CJP, who ultimately felt compelled to act but instead of calling for a full bench hearing of the supreme court and summoning those named by the six judges, he has tried to effectively put the six judges in the dock,” said Imran.
He claimed that the state is standing alone as it struggles to tame rising inflation and a nose-changing economy.
“Unwilling to mitigate its grave errors, which have led Pakistan to this precarious point and unable to transcend its mantra of repression and violence against critics, the State treads the same path as which he set foot in 1971, when he lost East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh. ,” Imran said. Although he cleverly compared himself to Awami League chief Sheikh Mujibur Rehman – who clearly campaigned for the rights of East Pakistan before working for an independent Bangladesh, it was unclear what another split in Pakistan would look like given Imran’s decision to make a comparison.
Imran went on to point to a surge in terrorism in the country and growing alienation in Balochistan.
He added that India has already admitted to carrying out an assassination operation inside Pakistan while the border with Afghanistan remains volatile.
Imran also reiterated his claim that the military establishment was keen to allow the US access to bases inside Pakistan. The foreign office rejected this claim again this week.
“The military establishment’s expectation of unquestioned support from the United States, in return for providing access to airspace and related facilities to the United States for military purposes, has been punctured following the publication of the latest US State Department Country Reports States on Human Rights Practices which highlights the many human rights violations in Pakistan.”
The former prime minister warned that seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in such circumstances, where there is an alleged “conflict with the people”, “would not lead to any stability for Pakistan”.
He finished by repeating his rhetoric that the military establishment “did everything they could against me”.
“All that is left for them now is to assassinate me,” he claimed, adding, “I have publicly stated that if anything happens to me or my wife, Gen Asim Munir will be responsible.”
He finished by saying that he was not afraid of death and would prefer it instead to slavery. He made no mention of whether continued imprisonment would be unacceptable.
