- Tells CNN govt desire to eliminate him from political landscape due to fear of defeat in elections
- Stressing significance of a robust defence system for Pakistan’s stability
LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former prime minister, Imran Khan on Sunday expressed his fears he may be arrested by police in Islamabad when he appears in court on Tuesday to get bail in several cases.
“On Tuesday, I’m going to make an appearance for various bails in Islamabad, [there are] 80 chances that I will be arrested. So right now there’s no rule of law,” he said while speaking in an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN.
“Right now in Pakistan there is no rule of law. Our entire leadership is in jail, and there are 80% chances that I’ll be arrested on Tuesday when I go to Islamabad”@ImranKhanPTI on his interview with @FareedZakaria on CNN: pic.twitter.com/GfVIO9hyAF
— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 21, 2023
“Everything is being done just to dismantle our democracy, so right now, as we speak, over 10,000 workers have been arrested. My entire senior leadership is in jail.”
According to Imran, these actions are driven by the government’s desire to eliminate him from the political landscape, stemming from their fear of losing the upcoming general elections.
Drawing attention to a past assassination attempt on his life, the cricketer-turned-politician expressed lingering concerns for his personal safety.
“Right now in Pakistan there is no rule of law. Our entire leadership is in jail, and there are 80% chances that I’ll be arrested on Tuesday when I go to Islamabad”@ImranKhanPTI on his interview with @FareedZakaria on CNN: pic.twitter.com/GfVIO9hyAF
— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 21, 2023
“In November, there was an assassination attempt which I had predicted. I had been warning that they are going to use this so-called religious fanatic who was going to kill me and then, just like Salman Taseer, our governor, he was killed by a religious fanatic…so they were going to use that to bump me off,” he responded to a question on whether he felt safe after the gun attack in Wazirabad.
“The reason [for the assassination attempt] was that they had lost all the by-elections and the party was getting more and more popular. So I knew that my life was in danger and I sort of had to speak publicly about it.”
“In order to keep me out, the entire democratic system is being dismantled”-@ImranKhanPTI in his interview with @FareedZakaria on CNN: pic.twitter.com/QANu2hTgp7
— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 21, 2023
The former prime minister voiced apprehension regarding the intentions of the coalition PDM government towards the scheduled national elections in October, raising concerns over the possibility that the polls might be postponed until the government is confident that PTI does not succeed.
Imran further highlighted the success of PTI in previous by-elections, which he believes has unsettled the ruling alliance, heightening their anxiety about facing his party in the upcoming polls.
“The solution to Pakistan’s problems is free & fair elections because that’s the only thing that will bring political stability to this country”.
Chairman @ImranKhanPTI on his interview with @FareedZakaria on CNN: pic.twitter.com/tLfoBCohdi— PTI Islamabad (@PTIOfficialISB) May 21, 2023
The PTI chief characterised the current period as “unpredictable”, stressing the significance of a robust defence system for Pakistan’s stability.
Imran acknowledged his past collaboration with former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa. However, he claimed that, during the last six months of PTI’s government, attempts were made to remove him from power.
My much-delayed interview with former Pakistani Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI: his arrest, quest for elections, and why he says there is currently “no rule of law in this country”: part 1 of our conversation, from today’s GPS pic.twitter.com/ShybVbJZ7I
— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) May 21, 2023
He emphasised the importance of a unified Pakistan and urged the avoidance of confrontations with the army, warning that even in the event of a victory against the military, it would ultimately result in a loss for the country.
‘There’s something he has against me which I don’t know’
In a separate interview with Al Jazeera, the ex-prime minister said he does not have any issue with the country’s current army chief, but accused Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir of trying to obstruct his return to power.
During the interview, Imran expressed his puzzlement over General Munir’s apparent animosity towards him, stating, “I haven’t done anything to antagonise the army chief, but there is something he has against me which I don’t know.”
He accused the police of arresting around 7,500 protestors believed to be affiliated with his party. However, he urged his supporters to remain peaceful in the event of his re-arrest, cautioning that the government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, may exploit instances of violence to crack down on opposition activists and leaders.
Imran further highlighted the arrest of the entire top leadership of his party and revealed that there are approximately 150 cases pending against him, making his arrest a possibility. However, he asserted, “You cannot arrest an idea whose time has come.”
Meanwhile, the PTI chairman rejected a report by The Telegraph which claimed that he had previously dismissed Gen Asim as head of the ISI after the general brought corruption allegations to his attention involving his wife, Bushra Khan.
The article claims that I had made Gen Asim resign as DG ISI because he had shown me my wife Bushra begums corruption cases .
This is completely false. Neither did Gen Asim show me any proofs of my wife's corruption nor did I make him resign because of that.…
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 21, 2023
“This is completely false. Neither did Gen Asim show me any proof of my wife’s corruption nor did I make him resign because of that,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Telegraph, quoting Farzana Shaikh of London’s Chatham House think-tank, reported: “Munir has been described as a straight arrow by people who know him and he clearly ran into difficulty with Khan when he decided as head of the ISI to bring to his attention that there were corruption allegations against members of his family.
“It came pretty close to the bone because members of the family centre on Khan’s wife. So Khan is said to have dismissed Munir on those grounds, although Khan has never referred to the reasons, or explained why. It’s well known that the two men clashed and this clash is now playing itself out in this latest battle,” the newspaper claimed in its report.
PTI, JUI-Sherani agrees to expand political cooperation
PTI Chairman Imran Khan held a meeting with a high-level delegation of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan headed by Maulana Khan Muhammad Sherani at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
According to a detailed statement by the PTI, the leaders discussed the country’s political situation, the government’s “invasion against the Constitution and the judiciary, and the massacre of democracy and democratic values”.
جمعیت علمائے اسلام پاکستان کے اعلیٰ سطحی وفد کی مولانا خان محمد شیرانی کی سربراہی میں زمان پارک آمد
چیئرمین پاکستان تحریک انصاف عمران خان سے خصوصی تفصیلی ملاقات
ملکی سیاسی صورتحال، آئین و عدلیہ کیخلاف حکومتی یلغار اور جمہوریت و جمہوری اقدار کے قتلِ عام پر گہری تشویش کا اظہار… pic.twitter.com/mkcRBy847V
— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 21, 2023
The delegation strongly condemned Imran’s “abduction” and the oppression of the PTI. Sherani also laid emphasis on the need for a comprehensive investigation to bring to justice those who damaged property on May 9.
PTI and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan also fully agreed to expand and mobilise political cooperation.
