Jailed former PM Imran Khan says even a child knows Pakistan being run by army chief

Lahore: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has said that even a child knows here that Pakistan is being run by Army Chief General Asim Munir.

"I want to tell the DG ISPR (military wing spokesperson) that the military’s credibility is being destroyed. While the military claims not to interfere in politics, even a child knows here that the army chief is running the country," Khan, 72, said in a post on X on Monday.

"The nation has been handed over to touts like (Interior Minister and PCB Chairman) Mohsin Naqvi, a man who has never even contested a counsellor's election, yet now controls everything from cricket to internal and external affairs.

The entire country is gripped by oppression and fascism," said Khan, who has been in jail in multiple cases since August 2023.

Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said the country’s biggest money launderers -- Sharifs and Zardaris -- have been imposed upon the nation.

"For 30 years, intelligence agencies themselves told us how these two families looted Pakistan. They showed us files on the Surrey Palace and Mayfair apartments.

NAB (national anti-graft body) was supposed to recover PKR 1,100 billion, and during our tenure, we managed to recover PKR 480 billion because we were serious about accountability. 

In contrast, over the past 17 years, only PKR 80-90 billion had been recovered. But by amending NAB laws, all cases against these two families were closed," the cricketer-turned-politician said.

"The very same intelligence agencies that once branded them as corrupt have now imposed them on us through blatant electoral fraud just because they are good at boot-polishing," Khan said.

By installing the very figures that the people have rejected, the military has destroyed its own credibility and fuelled public resentment, Khan said, adding this entire sham system's survival depends on crushing PTI, keeping its people behind bars, and ensuring the electoral fraud remains hidden.

"Conduct any survey, and you (the military) will see how much the gap between the people and the army has widened," Khan said.

Khan further said where democracy flourishes, so does progress. "East Germany was under authoritarian rule, while West Germany embraced democracy. Fifty years later, the world witnessed how democracy propelled West Germany to prosperity."

"The Soviet Union also saw rapid development in the 1970s, but within 15-20 years, its dictatorial policies, including abductions reminiscent of the 'Vigo culture', led to its downfall... just like what we are witnessing in Pakistan today. Meanwhile, the United States surged far ahead," the jailed PTI supremo said.