LAHORE: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan claimed on Monday that the country’s powerful military establishment has planned to keep him in jail for the next 10 years under sedition charges and vowed to fight against the “assortments of crooks” till the last drop of his blood.
Khan is likely to appear before the Lahore High Court in connection with the cases registered against him for torching the house of the Corps Commander here and other incidents of violence erupted after his arrest in a corruption case last week.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted 70-year-old Khan bail, barring the authorities from arresting him in all the cases registered beyond May 9 and asked him to approach the Lahore High Court for further relief on May 15.
In a series of tweets in the early hours of Monday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief said: “So now the complete London plan is out. Using the pretext of violence while I was inside the jail, they assumed the role of judge, jury and executioner. The plan now is to humiliate me by putting Bushra begum (Khan’s wife) in jail, and using some sedition law to keep me inside for the next ten years.”
The tweets came after Khan held a meeting of PTI leaders at his Lahore residence.
Khan, who has been on bail in more than 100 cases, further said: “To ensure that there is no public reaction, they have done two things — first deliberate terror is unleashed not just on PTI workers but on common citizens as well. Second, the media is totally controlled and muzzled.”
The Army remains Pakistan’s most powerful institution, having ruled it directly for close to half its 75-year history through three coups.
“This is a deliberate attempt to instil so much fear in people that when they come to arrest me tomorrow, people won’t come out. And tomorrow they will again suspend internet services and ban social media (which is only partially open). Meanwhile, as we speak, houses are being broken in and shamelessly police are manhandling the women of the houses,” he said.
He said never has the sanctity of chadar (veil) and chaar dewaari (four walls) been violated the way it is being done by these “criminals”.
Giving his message to the people of Pakistan, Khan said: “My message to the people of Pakistan; I will fight for Haqeeqi Azaadi (real freedom) till the last drop of my blood because for me death is preferable than to be enslaved by these assortments of crooks.