Lahore, May 15 : Former Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan made a claim on Monday, stating that the country’s powerful military establishment intends to imprison him for the next decade under sedition charges. In a series of early-morning tweets, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party expressed his concerns. Khan alleged that the military had assumed the roles of judge, jury, and executioner, aiming to humiliate him by imprisoning his wife, Bushra Begum, and utilizing sedition laws to keep him incarcerated for ten years.
These statements followed a meeting of PTI leaders at Khan’s residence in Lahore. The 70-year-old leader, who is currently on bail in over 100 cases, further accused the military establishment of deliberately unleashing violence on PTI workers and citizens to discourage public reaction. Khan also claimed that the media was being tightly controlled and silenced. He expressed his disapproval of the violation of privacy and mistreatment of women during house raids.
In his message to the people of Pakistan, Khan vowed to fight for true freedom until the end, stating that he would not submit to fear or allow future generations to be enslaved. He urged the nation to remember their pledge to bow only to Allah and warned against succumbing to the idol of fear, emphasizing that countries plagued by injustice and lawlessness do not thrive in the long run.
Khan recently returned to his Lahore home after spending hours locked inside the premises of the Islamabad High Court, fearing re-arrest despite being granted bail. The court instructed him to approach the Lahore High Court for further legal relief on May 15.
The PTI leader also criticized the ongoing drama orchestrated by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) outside the Supreme Court, alleging that its purpose is to intimidate the Chief Justice to prevent a constitutional verdict. Khan highlighted the country’s history of attacks on the judiciary and emphasized the need to uphold the sanctity of the legal system.
Khan’s arrest by the Pakistan Rangers at the Islamabad High Court premises last Tuesday triggered widespread unrest and protests throughout the country, resulting in casualties, damage to military and state installations, and the unprecedented storming of the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The death toll from the violent clashes has been reported as ten by the police, while the PTI claims that 40 of its party workers lost their lives due to firing by security personnel.
