Zia Sarhadi
Pakistan’s most popular leader Imran Khan is not only languishing in jail since August 2023, he has lost 85% vision in his right eye. His jailers, on orders from the army, are refusing to provide him proper medical care that is every prisoner’s right.
His family (basically his sisters), says they are “extremely worried” about his health. He has been refused hospital treatment. His personal physicians are not allowed to see him, heightening concerns about his deteriorating health condition.
Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi is also languishing in prison on trumped-up charges. His two sons—Kassem and Sulaiman— residing in England, are not allowed to visit him as the Pakistani regime has refused them visas.
The 73-year-old Khan’s case has hit international headlines (see also here and here), much to the embarrassment of the thugs in uniform, the real rulers of Pakistan. The civilian puppets installed as front-men by the army issue contradictory statements. While they insist that Khan is ‘getting proper’ treatment, the fact that his personal physicians are not allowed to see him belie their claims.
Khan’s family lodged a complaint in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It is a toothless body that takes its orders from the goons in uniform. The court nonetheless ordered the authorities to provide Khan with a thorough medical assessment by a panel of doctors.
It also ruled that his sons be allowed a telephone call with their father before February 16. Khan was able to have a 20-minute phone conversation with his sons after months of denial by the illegitimate rulers.
Why is the illegitimate regime, made up of absolute criminals, whether in uniform or civviis, so adamant about denying Imran Khan’s basic rights? They want to break him mentally and then eliminate him physically from the scene.
There have been three attempts on Khan’s life already. He miraculously survived all of them. Some people have expressed the fear that Khan could be given slow poison in prison. His eye problem and the authorities’ refusal to provide him proper medical care are seen as part of this diabolical plot.
The army chief, Asim Munir, a vile character, greatly fears Imran Khan. He knows that if released from prison, Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i Insaf (PTI) will sweep the polls. Munir and his thuggish generals have not been able to undermine Khan’s support among the masses since his ouster from power in April 2022.
In the February 8, 2024 general elections, the PTI won an absolute majority but army goons stole ballot boxes and reversed the results. There was not even an attempt to try and camouflage the theft of people’s mandate. Munir wanted to show that he can do whatever he likes and nobody can do a damn thing about it.
Pakistan’s internal situation is extremely fragile. The army is hated by the people. There is an insurrection underway in Balochistan. People in KP province are also under attack. There are frequent attacks on army posts and other government installations. The generals know they cannot control the situation, yet they are desperately trying to eliminate Khan physically.
Externally, too, Pakistan is in a precarious position. Its debt is spiralling out of control. The country barely survives on borrowed money. It is unable to meet its debt obligations despite optimistic statements being issued about the potential sale of JF-17 planes to various countries and increasing export earnings.
Apart from optimistic statements, repeated endlessly on state-controlled media channels, nothing has materialized. Many observers inside and outside Pakistan see it as a failed state and have little hope for its future.
Pakistan has a long history of military interference in politics and making a mess of everything. Any politician who dares to raise questions about the military’s illegal interference is immediately branded a traitor.
The generals even conspired to kill the country’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, by refusing to allow him proper treatment. It speaks volumes for the evil nature of the men in uniform. Jinnah’s sister Fatima Jinnah was also reportedly murdered by the army when she dared to stand against the military dictator Ayub Khan in the 1964 presidential elections.
Although professionally incompetent, Ayub was deeply conspiratorial. Every potential political rival was immediately branded a “traitor”. In addition to Fatima Jinnah, it included Shaikh Mujibur Rahman who demanded autonomy for East Pakistan in the Pakistani confederation.
The thugs in uniform and the West Pakistani elite refused to consider such demands. They were prepared to unleash the military to kill innocent civilians in East Pakistan. That ultimately led to India’s invasion and the shameless surrender of tens of thousands of Pakistani troops to the invading Indian army.
Surrender was preferrable to a political settlement because it would have meant giving up the privileges of the West Pakistani elite, especially the military. That was under General Yahya Khan, who had replaced Ayub Khan in March 1969 as the self-appointed ruler.
Two other bouts of martial law imposed by General Zia ul-Haq (1977-1988) and General Pervez Musharraf (1999-2008) only increased Pakistan’s subservience to the Americans. Zia joined America’s war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan while Musharraf joined America’s war on Afghanistan. Both ventures while facilitating the generals’ hold on power, cost Pakistan dearly.
Musharraf also had the dubious distinction of blaming Dr Abdul Qadir Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, of selling nuclear secrets to Libya. He was publicly humiliated and forced to take the blam on television even though the nuclear program was under military control, not Qadir Khan’s.
Musharraf also had the Baloch leader, Akbar Bugti assassinated because he had dared to demand that an army captain who had raped a Baloch female doctor be arrested and put on trial. Army personnel are above the law, even if they commit rape.
In the intervening years, the situation has got much worse, as the plight of Imran Khan shows. Both General Bajwa, Munir’s predecessor, and Munir himself, have turned out to be even worse criminals.
They showed themselves to be completely subservient to the Americans carrying out their orders. Imran Khan’s ouster from power was demanded by the Americans and Bajwa promptly complied. Munir is terrorising PTI supporters as well as torturing Imran Khan, the one political leader who has a reasonable chance of pulling Pakistan out of its present predicament.
Munir has also committed to sending Pakistani troops to Gaza as part of Donald Trump’s Gaza peace force. The people of Paistan are completely opposed to this policy but since the army has the guns, they believe they can do what they like. People be damned.
Imran Khan’s imprisonment and torture are part of the same policy. He has overwhelming support among the masses. This is what irks the thugs in uniform, hence their absolutely criminal conduct.
They do not care if Pakistan is destroyed as long as they continue to control its resources. They insist on making all the decisions, regardless of how detrimental they are for the country.
Imran Khan is paying a terrible price for standing up to the thugs. If the people do not rise up, they will continue to suffer even more oppression under the havy boot of the army. The country may ultimately disintegrate.
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