Imran Khan Claims Gov’t and Army Aim to Crush PTI in Pakistan

Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has accused Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir of attempting to prevent him from returning to power. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Khan denied having any issues with Munir, but claimed that the army chief had a problem with him. The PTI party has recently been accused of damaging military installations, and the civilian government has said it will use a controversial army law to try supporters of the party involved in these actions. Khan has accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of being a “puppet” of the army, which has carried out multiple coups against civilian governments in the past. He has also accused the police of arresting 7,500 protestors believed to be from his party. Human Rights Watch has condemned the “arbitrary arrests” of over 4,000 people in the wake of the protests, and called for due process rights to be respected. Khan has denied any involvement in violent protests and urged his supporters to remain peaceful. He has accused the government and establishment of attempting to crush the PTI party in order to prevent him from contesting the upcoming general election.