If anything happens to me, Army chief & DG ISI responsible, says Imran Khan

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
| Photo Credit: AP

Khan, 71, lodged at the Adiala Jail since last year, also blamed the current dispensation for being averse to criticism, for the deteriorating law-and-order situation across the country, and also for ruining Pakistan’s cricket that is facing repeated defeats.

In a post on X from jail, Khan repeated claims about rigged elections and said only a government with a genuine mandate will be able to plan for fundamental reforms.

“The ISI controls all administrative matters related to my imprisonment. I’m saying it again: if anything happens to me, the Army Chief and DG ISI will be responsible,” the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a detailed post on X.

Khan’s comments come two days after the Pakistan government said that the former prime minister’s trial in cases concerning the violence on May 9 last year might go to the military courts.

“The events and vandalism on May 9 last year invited the application of the Army Act since military installations were attacked and damaged,” Government spokesperson for legal affairs Barrister Aqeel Malik had said.

On May 9 last year, violent protests erupted after Khan’s arrest by paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in connection with an alleged corruption case.

His party workers allegedly vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), the Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. A mob also attacked the Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Khan’s longish post on X started with “reminding” the nation of the two attempts on his life: first in Wazirabad, Punjab province and then again at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad.

The ISI stole the CCTV footage from Wazirabad, and the night before the attack in Islamabad, the ISI had taken control of the area where it happened, he claimed.

“In their panic, they have made my conditions in jail even tougher. The staff assigned to ensure that my food isn’t poisoned has been changed for the fourth time,” he wrote.

He also described the conditions of his and his wife Bushra’s cell – ‘rats fall from the top when she prays – and said the court has been informed about it.

Khan further said that he had already explained why the Islamabad rally was postponed and how it had nothing to do with “contacts with the establishment.” “This entire government runs on lies; I don’t even read the news about them. I have no contact with the establishment. If we do hold talks with them, it will only be for the sake of the country and the constitution,” the PTI supremo added.

Drawing a parallel to the situation that unfolded in Bangladesh, he also came up with a curt comment: “Cattle can be herded in a desired direction, not humans” and said, “The Army Chief, Chief Justice, and Police Chief were all loyal to the Prime Minister (in Bangladesh), but when the people took to the streets, they won their rights.” “Anyone critical of the regime is labelled a digital terrorist. When internet services were shut down, people protested, but those in power couldn’t handle the criticism. No one is permitted to even voice their problems. The nation blames a specific institution for this,” he added.

“What are his qualifications? Under him, the law-and-order situation across the country is deteriorating,” the PTI leader asked and described terror attack incidents in KP and Balochistan.

The former cricketer-turned-politician rued about “the embarrassing defeat against Bangladesh” on Monday (August 26, 2024) and said it set a new low. He also lamented the current condition of cricket in Pakistan, saying: “The blame for all of this collapse falls on one institution.”