Editor
- PTI founder offers interview to British channel from Adiala jail.
- Says he been confined in “a seven-by-eight-foot dying cell”.
- Tells UK PM Starmer his celebration has been “brutally suppressed”.
LONDON: Former prime minister Imran Khan has sought the assistance of the newly elected UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to boost consciousness of threats to democracy in Pakistan.
In an interview to British information channel, ITV News, from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Khan congratulated the brand new British premier for his election victory however requested him to think about senior Labour Party figures being “kidnapped at the hours of darkness” through the UK election marketing campaign to know the erosion of democracy in Pakistan.
“For almost a 12 months now, I’ve been confined in a seven-by-eight-foot dying cell, an area sometimes reserved for terrorists and people on dying row,” he stated by way of legal professionals. ITV stated his legal professionals despatched solutions of questions despatched by ITV News.
“Surveillance is fixed, stripping away any semblance of privateness.”
The 71-year-old former cricket star stated he was “resolute and prepared” for democratic change, including that regardless of his situation, prayers, studying and train had given him power.
“I’m each mentally and bodily ready for the battle forward. True democratic change and freedom in Pakistan are by no means going to be straightforward,” he stated.
Khan instructed ITV: “I urge PM Starmer and his cupboard, who assumed energy by way of the real will of the folks with none electoral manipulation, to think about if their overwhelming victory was stolen. Picture a situation the place a celebration that hardly received 18 seats usurped your mandate, the place your celebration symbols had been stripped, and your leaders had been imprisoned or tortured till they switched allegiances or left politics altogether. Imagine properties damaged into and ladies and kids kidnapped at the hours of darkness.”
He added that his celebration has been “brutally suppressed”.
“The folks of Pakistan yearned for change, for democracy, and for the rule of regulation to prevail. Their votes had been a cry for justice, self-determination, and freedom.”
ITV additionally interviewed Imran Khan’s worldwide adviser Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari who confirmed Khan is now looking for to turn into the subsequent chancellor of Oxford University, the place he studied through the Seventies.
An utility type was submitted on his behalf for an election later this 12 months, Bukhari stated.
If profitable, he would substitute Chris Patten, the previous authorities minister.
When requested by ITV News whether or not a brand new British authorities ought to amplify requires his launch, Khan warned that the administration carried “great duty and excessive expectations” on the world stage.
“The world is watching them and trying to them for management, particularly in mild of the horrific state of affairs in Gaza and the erosion of democratic ideas globally.
“We have a collective responsibility to uphold the values of peace and try for freedom and equity for everybody. Where the UK stands in its dedication to those values will communicate volumes.”
Khan added that Starmer ought to do extra to sort out anti-Muslim hatred within the UK.
“Having spent a lot time within the UK throughout my cricketing days, it saddens me to see the rise of Islamophobia over the previous decade. I hope the newly appointed authorities can curb the bigotry that has affected Muslims and other people of all faiths.”
