Editor
Former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated for greater than a year on a number of costs, has expressed issues concerning the state of democracy in Pakistan, urging the United Kingdom to take a stand for “freedom and equity.”
In an interview revealed on Tuesday by a London-based TV channel, Khan known as on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to uphold democratic values.
Khan, who was faraway from workplace in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, has been in jail since August of the identical yr.
Despite a few of his convictions being overturned or suspended, new costs have been lately introduced towards him, which he claims are politically motivated.
Khan accuses his rivals within the coalition authorities, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of utilizing the authorized system to suppress him, with alleged backing from the navy—an accusation each the federal government and the navy deny.
Khan’s occasion, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), emerged because the main occasion within the February 8 elections however fell wanting securing sufficient seats to type a authorities.
The PTI has since alleged widespread state-sponsored repression towards its members and supporters, each earlier than and after the elections, which it claims have been manipulated.
Many of Khan’s key allies are both behind bars or have distanced themselves from the occasion, whereas critics of the federal government and the navy report ongoing harassment—a cost that authorities reject.
In a written response to questions from ITV, Khan was requested about his expectations from the UK authorities concerning his imprisonment.
He known as on PM Starmer’s administration to take a agency stand on the ideas of peace, freedom, and equity, emphasising that the UK’s dedication to those values can be intently watched on the worldwide stage.
Starmer, who lately grew to become the UK’s 58th prime minister after main the Labour Party to a decisive electoral victory, is the primary Labour chief to win a nationwide election since Tony Blair’s successive victories starting in 1997.
Khan, who maintains that the February elections have been rigged to undermine his occasion’s mandate, urged Starmer and his cupboard to think about how they’d really feel if their electoral triumph was unjustly taken away.
He painted a hypothetical situation the place a celebration with minimal electoral success usurps energy, whereas his occasion’s leaders are detained or coerced into abandoning their political careers.
Khan additionally described his harsh circumstances in Rawalpindi Jail, the place he claims to be confined in a small cell underneath fixed surveillance, with no privateness.
The authorities has denied these allegations, asserting earlier than the Supreme Court that Khan is supplied with satisfactory facilities, together with an train bike, a separate kitchen, a room cooler, a examine desk, and an LED TV.
