Former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday linked the “agencies” crackdown on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to the resurfacing of terrorism in the country.
In an informal interaction with journalists at Adiala Jail, where he is incarcerated as part of his conviction in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, Khan claimed “all of Pakistan’s agencies have been mobilized to crush” the PTI to “hide the theft of the public’s mandate” during the 2024 general elections. “Had these agencies focused on their actual duties instead of politics, the scourge of terrorism would not have resurfaced in the country,” he added.
In recent weeks, Khan had resisted blaming the establishment or agencies for his legal woes, but seemingly reversed tactics after his conviction. “Yahya Khan Part 2 and the puppet government are keeping me in jail under false pretenses,” he said, referring to the former military dictator. He further described the Al-Qadir Trust and Toshakhana cases against him as “absurd.”
He maintained the funds returned to Pakistan by London’s National Crime Agency was always meant to go into the Supreme Court’s account, not the government. “The reopening of this inquiry was malicious. It has been proven that neither my wife nor I benefitted even a single penny from the Al-Qadir Trust Fund,” he claimed.
To questions on the PTI exiting talks with the government, he said the incumbent rulers were “puppets” who couldn’t “even have breakfast” without the establishment’s approval. “This government is avoiding the formation of a judicial commission because it has something to hide,” he alleged, reiterating that formation of judicial commissions into the May 9 riots and Nov. 26 Islamabad protests was a prerequisite for talks.
“Nowhere in history have security forces opened direct fire on their own citizens, yet this brutality was inflicted upon our workers,” he alleged, reiterating that failure to probe such incidents was “evidence” of government dishonesty. “They used to spread propaganda that we were unwilling to sit at the negotiation table. However, when we came forward for the country’s sake and demanded a commission, they fled because their intentions were nefarious,” he said.
The PTI founder vowed to pursue legal action against incumbent NAB Chairman Nazir Ahmed Butt and Judge Nasir Javed, who ruled against him and his wife in the Al-Qadir Trust case. “NAB’s purpose is to recover the looted wealth of the Pakistani people, not to act as a tool of the establishment for political vengeance,” he said, while also questioning the impartiality of Judge Raja Minhas, who is hearing a appeal against the new Toshakhana case in the Islamabad High Court.
Stating that Minhas’ brother was a prosecutor against Khan in the May 9 and GHQ attack cases, he said the new judge was further tainted by becoming a judge under the 26th Amendment. “Therefore, Raja Minhas should not hear any of our cases on ethical grounds,” he said.
The PTI founder claimed attempts to “crush” the PTI had hampered investment and economic growth. He also defended the performance of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, claiming it was the only “democratically elected” government in the country.
Khan concluded his statement by urging all Pakistanis to support the PTI to achieve “genuine sovereignty.”