Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is in jail in Rawalpindi, has warned about the dire in the country on borders with India and Afghanistan.
In a column for the UK’s ‘Daily Telegraph newspaper, Imran Khan wrote that Pakistan was treading the same path it trod in 1971 when it lost its eastern region, now Bangladesh.
Khan from the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi alleged that Pakistan was seeing an upsurge in terrorism and a growing alienation in Balochistan. "On Pakistan’s borders, India has already admitted to undertaking assassinations inside of Pakistan and the international border with Afghanistan remains volatile,” he added.
Khan has lamented the sorry state of affairs in Pakistan where political leaders like him languish in jail and said all that is left for the powerful military leadership was to "murder" him.
The powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 75-plus years of existence, has wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy. However, the military has denied meddling in the country’s politics.
The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician reiterated his previous assertion that if anything happens to him or his wife, General Asim Munir – the Chief of Army Staff, will be responsible.
The founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) noted the military establishment’s expectation of “unquestioning support” from the US, in return for the provision of access to airspace and related facilities to the US for military purposes, has been punctured after the publication of the latest US State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which highlights the many human rights violations in Pakistan.
Khan hailed the “democratic revenge” of the February 8 general election, during which people came out and “voted overwhelmingly” for candidates supported by his party.
“Unfortunately, instead of accepting the people’s mandate, the military establishment went into a fit of rage, and electoral results were manipulated to bring into power the losers," Khan wrote.
(With inputs from PTI news agency)
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