Imran Khan has warned that Pakistan’s elections could turn into a comedy.

The party of his is being unfairly censored, a former premier writes from prison.

Presently, Pakistan is run by caretaker government at the provincial and federal levels. They are illegal under the constitution since elections were not held in the 90-day period following the parliamentary assemblies dissolving.

The public has been informed that elections are supposedly scheduled on February 8th. However, having been denied this for two provincial areas, Punjab as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the last year despite the Supreme Court order last March that the vote must be conducted within three months, they are entitled to be skeptical regarding whether the national election will be held.

The election commission of Pakistan is soiled through its odd actions. It has not only refused to comply with the Supreme Court, and ruled in its favour, but it also rebuffed my Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf ( PTI) party’s nominations of first-choice candidates, impeded the internal elections of the party, and filed contempt lawsuits against me as well as other PTI leaders for merely criticising the commission.

If elections take place in the future or not. The way that I along with my party have been targeted since the absurd motion of confidence the month of April 2022 has been a clear indication that the establishment, including the army as well as security agencies, and the civil bureaucracy are not ready to offer any playing field and certainly not a level one in the case of the PTI.

It was, in the end the establishment that orchestrated our exile from the government due to pressure from America and was getting annoyed by my determination to have an independent foreign policy as well as my refusal to establish bases for the armed forces of America. I determined that we were an friend to all, but not serve as a proxy for conflicts. I was not able to have this opinion without a lot of thought. It was influenced by the massive loss Pakistan suffered as a result of its participation in American’s “war on terror”, not the least of which was the more than 80,000 Pakistani lives that were lost.

In the month of March 2022, an official from the American State Department met Pakistan’s then ambassador in Washington D.C. Following the meeting, the ambassador emailed a cryptic note to my government. I later read the message via the then foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and then it was read out in the cabinet.

According to the cipher message, I believe that the American official’s message had result in pulling the off Imran Khan’s premiership with an unconvinced vote or else. In the next few weeks, the government was overthrown and I found out that the Pakistani Chief of the Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had through authorities of security, worked with our parliamentary backbenchers and allies for months in order to turn against us.

People took to the streets to protest against the change. In the following months, pti was able to win 28 of 37 by-elections, and staged massive rallies throughout the country, delivering the message clearly what the public’s position was. The rallies were attended by a number which we think to be unparalleled in the history of Pakistan. The power that were behind the removal of our government.

To compound their anxiety to their rage, the administration that succeeded us devastated the economy and brought about unimaginable inflation and a devaluation of the currency within a span of 18 months. The stark contrast was evident for all to observe and The administration of PTI government had not just saved Pakistan from a financial crisis, but also earned international acclaim for its treatment on the pandemic covid-19. Furthermore even with a rise in the price of commodities, we guided the economy towards real GDP growth of 5.8 percent for 2021, and 6.1 percentage in 2022.

Unfortunately, the establishment made the decision that I would not be able to be re-elected and all methods of dislodging me off the political scene were utilized. There were two attempts to assassinate me against my life. My party’s top leaders, workers, and social-media activists as well as journalists who supported them were taken, detained as well as tortured, and forced to leave the pti. A lot of them are in prison, and new charges being brought against them each time the justice system grants bail or allow them to go free. The government has taken every step to intimidate and terrorize the female leaders and employees of pti to deter women from taking part in politics.

I have to deal with nearly 200 legal proceedings and am refused a trial in a court of public record. A false-flag incident on May 9th, 2023 involving among others, arson attacks on military installations that were that were falsely blamed for pti– led to thousands of arrests, abductions, and criminal charges in just 48 hours. It was evident that the speed was planned ahead of time.

Then came the news of many leader members being beaten or threatened by their families into holding press conferences or interviews on TV to announce that they would be leaving the party. Many were forced to join new newly-created political parties. Others were forced to provide false testimony about me under pressure.

However, the party is still popular, having 66% support in the Pattan-Coalition38 poll that was conducted in December. my personal rating of approval is more favorable. The election commission is determined to disqualify the party from the right to participate in elections, is experimenting with various illegal tactics. The courts appear to be losing their credibility every day.

A former prime minister who was sentence for corruption Nawaz Sharif is back to Britain in the UK, where he had been living with an absconder to Pakistani justice. In November, a Pakistani court ruled that the conviction was not valid.

It is my conviction that Mr. Sharif has reached a settlement with the establishment, whereby they will back his conviction and put its support behind him in the forthcoming elections. The public has been consistent in its support for the pti and has resisted”selected “selected”.

In these conditions that elections could be held on the 8th of February. Each party is permitted to run freely, with the exception of for the pti. I remain in solitary confinement on absurd charges including the crime of treason. The few of our party’s leadership who are still at liberty and not undercover aren’t allowed to host any local conventions for workers. When pti activists can gather, they are restraining by the police.

In this case in which elections are held, they could be a disaster as well as be a sham, since the PTI is denied its right to run for office. This kind of a prank election could only result in more political instability. This could make things worse for an already unstable economy.

The only way to move forward for Pakistan is to hold free and fair elections that bring stability and the rule of law as well as bringing necessary reforms through the democratically elected government with the support of the people. It is the only option to allow Pakistan to be free of the challenges it faces. With democracy under threat and the country facing a deterioration in its democracy, we are moving towards the wrong direction on all of these fronts. #

Imran Khan is the chairman and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and was prime minister of Pakistan between 2018 and 2022.

Note from the Editor: Pakistan’s government and the US State Department deny Mr Khan’s claims of American involvement in Pakistani political affairs. The government is pursuing Mr Khan in accordance with the Official Secrets Act.

Source: The Economist